Fallout Online: The Rise of Gray Celthric
by Frosty Ninja
Summary: The most anticipated MMORPG of all time has finally arrived on the NerveGear! Gray can't wait to get his hands on the game, but speculation about SAO has him thinking twice. Then again, it's Fallout we're talking about. Fallout! It isn't like anything is going to go wrong. Right?
1. Chapter 1

Fallout Online: The Rise of Gray Celthric

A/N: Hello there! I've been toying with the idea of this story in my head for a while now and decided that it was about time I put it into action. As you have already noticed, the story will be set in the Fallout universe, but with a twist! If you haven't pieced it together yet, the story will feature slight elements from SAO and will feature its own unique storyline and characters. I'm not sure if there has been a Fallout x SAO fic written yet, but in the case that there isn't, let this be the first of its kind! So to all of you fellow members of the apocalyptic wasteland, I bring you FOS. Enjoy!

** _Hello again all you Wastelanders! Just a little side note here on the A/N—but welcome to Chapter One MK. 2! I've made some drastic changes to the opening chapter of this story as promised because, well when I wrote this it was all on a whim and admittedly, this chapter needs some work. So to all of my current readers and newcomers—enjoy the new beginning!_

Disclaimer: I do not own _**Fallout or any of its characters/ locations.**_ I also do no not own _ **Sword Art Online or any of its characters. I do claim ownership of this story and its characters however.**_

Chapter One: A Harsh Reality

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

" _Experience the horrors of the apocalyptic wasteland—through your very own eyes!"_ Gray read the slogan off his copy of the brand new, Fallout: Online.

Gray Celthric was your average everyday teenager or at least—that's what he wanted people to think anyways. Now, he really didn't give so much as a hoot about what anybody thought of him but, when you grow up without any parents and live in a nice house all by yourself—people start to ask questions. He never liked the attention people gave him and growing up with his particular lifestyle wasn't exactly easy. For the better part of his childhood, he was made fun of by the other kids because he didn't have a mom or a dad. At first it made him sad, but then after a while he just gave anyone who mentioned it a good punch to the nose and that was usually the end of it (which led to countless suspensions). Any normal kid would have been scolded and reprimanded, but when you have a kid without parents, people just didn't know what to do with him. So he kind of just slid through life with 'slaps on the wrists' and a huge 'don't fuck with me attitude'.

Given his behavior, he wasn't very popular at school and had very little friends at all. He kept to himself for the most part and he preferred it that way. He did have one friend though that meant the world to him: Alyson Gable. He'd known her for as long as he could remember. They'd always been close and as you could imagine he'd eventually developed feelings for her. He'd never admit it though, since she was always hanging around the popular crowd and had the jock that hated his guts for a boyfriend. Still that didn't stop Alyson from being friends with him. Ever since his parents left him on his own to travel the world, Alyson was the only person he ever really talked to. Over the years they started to grow distant but she still popped in occasionally to check on him. _"He was the bestest friend she had ever had."_ She told him once.

"Friend-zoned so hard." He grumbled as he downed another Sprite. Finished, he crushed the can and tossed it into the nearby trash bin. "I could've been a basketball player." He chuckled to himself. Gray twirled around in his seat and decided that he needed to use the toilet. When he turned on the light and looked himself in the mirror he shrugged and went about his business. There was nothing extraordinary about Gray Celthric. He had short jet-black hair that he combed over to the right and ordinary brown eyes. He had a nice tan, despite staying indoors for most of his life. Alyson had remarked that he was 'cute' once but Gray never took it to mean anything. He figured she was just trying to hype him up to go talk to girls. "Like that'll ever happen." He said as he flushed the toilet and returned to his 'dungeon', at least that's what his best friend called it.

" _Why are you always up there? You should try and get out more often Gray. You can't survive off ramen noodles and Sprite forever you know!"_ she would tell him. Still he never really listened much. The only other thing that he knew how to cook was eggs, but he hated those things. When he wasn't eating noodles and drinking soda, he was either ordering takeout or Alyson was cooking something for him. He plopped himself down in his comfortable revolving chair and turned his attention over to his tri-monitor desktop setup. He clicked on the little Google Chrome icon and was greeted to the tagline he'd been dying to see for months now.

"Fallout: Online live and ready for action! Get your copy today!" it read. Truth be told Gray had already downloaded his copy of the MMORPG weeks ago, he just couldn't play it until they'd brought the servers up. Now that it was ready to play, he wasted no time in setting up the NerveGear that his parents had sent him from one of their trips in Japan. Before he put it on however, he recalled the article that Alyson had shown him weeks before.

" _You aren't going to buy that Fallout: Online game are you?" she asked._

" _What kind of question is that? Of course I am! It's Fallout Alyson!"_

" _Well it's just—look I found this article about this game that released in Japan. It was called Sword Art Online and the story goes that anyone who played it got trapped inside the game. It also said something about dying in SAO meant that you would die in real life. People are saying that the NerveGear is responsible for the accident and Japan has stopped selling the product entirely. I'm just saying Gray, maybe you shouldn't buy that game or use the NerveGear at all for that matter."_

" _You think I'm going to be trapped inside Fallout: Online? Come on Alyson that's ridiculous. Don't you think that if the NerveGear was as dangerous as it sounded then it would've been pulled from the American market? People are buying those things like crazy and so far, there's been no word of any accidents. Even if it was true, I'm sure the newer models that have been released have a failsafe switch on them somewhere. Besides, I've played every Fallout game to date. If I got trapped inside I'd be just fine. You worry too much." He replied._

" _I don't know Gray. It still sounds risky to me. Just be smart, okay? I gotta go… Brian won't stop bugging me to meet him before chemistry. See you around!"_

" _Yeah I know. See ya Aly." He said as he stabbed at his macaroni salad._

After his brief little flashback, Gray shook his head and collected his thoughts. _"Come on! It's Fallout: Online! What are you so scared about? No one's going to trap anyone inside a game. You've been waiting for this for years now. You deserve this!"_ he told himself. Finally reaching a decision he put the helmet on and jumped into bed. The machine booted up and made several beeping noises as the visor read "NerveGear" and moved to a separate interface that showed Gray all the games in his collection. "Fallout: Online." He said. All other images on screen zipped away, leaving only the Fallout: Online icon and a question that read, "Are you sure you want to play this game?" The brown-eyed teen was taken aback by the question. It never asked that for any other game he played on the Nervegear. Still, he shrugged it off and figured that it must've been a part of some new update he hadn't heard about. "Yes." He answered. The screen flashed and brought Gray to the title menu of the most anticipated game of the year. The teen was too excited for words. Here it was, his favorite game turned MMO. All he had to do was say one more phrase to step into the virtual world, leaving behind the world of reality. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Gray said the phrase that he would forever regret.

"Link start!" The screen danced and dozens of colors assaulted Gray's eyes at once before everything went black.

 _ **The world of FO…**_

After the arduous process of taking the G.O.A.T assessment and allocating his skill and S.P.E.C.I.A.L points Gray was relieved to finally choose his starting location. The world of FO spanned the entire country of the United States in one giant map that the players nicknamed The Grand Wasteland. He decided to start in the city that he knew most, Boston. He was born there after all and even if they did do a game on the location a couple of years back, Bethesda informed everyone that all of the previous Fallout settings had been significantly overhauled to match that of the current time. After a couple of seconds he loaded into a small room that he assumed was inside a vault. The Ink Spots infamous "Maybe" was playing through the vaults speaker systems. He couldn't believe it. Gray was sitting in his very own vault room in Fallout! He even had the vault jumpsuit to match.

"Vault 406?" He said a little confused when he saw the number on the back of one of the suits. It then donned on him that the developer had said that they were to add over three hundred new vaults that would serve as the spawn points for all new players. It was all part of their plan to authenticate the true Fallout experience. At that point Gray realized that he was in a vault filled with _actual_ people. "Better get out there then." He said to himself. The black-haired teen walked outside at precisely the same exact time as someone else did. The other player simply smiled and went off in their own direction. Gray decided to follow after the person since he didn't really know where to go himself. The vault itself was much different than the ones in the original Fallout games. First off, the walls weren't all grey, but rather the game's signature colors of blue and yellow. The halls and rooms were also larger, no doubt to accommodate the influx of players. Thankfully it still held on to its genuine forties and fifties feel. Every place he walked was alive with conversation and camaraderie, especially when Kay Kyser's _Jingle Jangle Jingle_ replaced the gloomy and infamous _Maybe_ on the vault's speakers. The whole environment was totally unreal to Gray. If he didn't know that he was playing a game, he would have felt right at home among the dancing and crazed wastelanders whom were celebrating the release of their favorite game.

"Pretty wild, huh?" came a voice. Gray turned to identify the person speaking to him but had a little trouble considering the amount of people crammed in the vault's halls. "Right here man." The person raised a hand and motioned for Gray to sit. The stranger looked to be no older than sixteen, had long and wavy dirty blonde hair with blue eyes to match. Seeing no reason to ignore the player, Gray took the cue and slid in between two vault dwellers and into his seat where the mysterious player handed him a bottle of Nuka-Cola. "Lemme tell you man, you ain't lived till you had yourself one of those! Oh and don't worry about the rads, the Nuka-Cola bottles in here are free of 'em!" the stranger said as he gulped down his second bottle. Knowing full well that he couldn't truly enjoy the Fallout experience without taking a swig of the iconic soda of the apocalypse, Gray popped the cap and indulged in the carbonated sugary goodness. "So, friend whaddya think? Isn't it the best damn thing you've ever tasted!?"

"Not gonna lie, it's actually pretty good!" Gray said as he set the bottle down.

"Well of course it is! It's Nuka-Cola after all." The stranger leaned back in his chair and threw his feet up on the table. "So what's your name pal? Mine's Jayden O'Hara, but you can just call me Jay."

"Nice to meet you Jay, my name's Gray." The black haired teen responded as he shook the extended hand of Jay.

"Haha! Jay and Gray! That rhymes." He chuckled. Jay went back to his previous sitting position and resumed watching the current festivities going on in the vault. "So Gray, is this your first Fallout game?" Jay asked.

"Hell no, I've played every single one! What about you?" he answered.

"I can't say that I've played every one, but this isn't my first Fallout game. I popped my Fallout cherry when my older brother insisted that I play the third one. I have to admit, I wasn't all that into the idea at first mainly because my brother lived in that age where they played with controllers and that just sounded so whack to me, you know? Then I actually got into it and I couldn't stop playing. I've got to say man for a controller game, Fallout is not bad. I tried getting into the older ones, but I just couldn't get past the graphics man. It was just not happening. Then when I heard that they were making a Fallout VR MMORPG I just had to get my hands on it."

"Well Jay, your brother definitely had good taste." Gray said with a laugh. "Personally, I prefer older games to these new VR ones. To be completely honest, this is actually my first DIVE into virtual reality. If it wasn't for this game, I'd probably have a controller in my hands right now." Talking like this felt good for Gray. Alyson would never understand half the crap he said, but at least in this community there were plenty of people he could relate to.

"No way man! This is your first DIVE? Dude, you've been missing out! Don't tell me that situation in Japan with that one game—God what was it called—but anyway it didn't scare you did it?"

"The game was called Sword Art Online and no that wasn't the reason I didn't play VR games. Although I have to admit when I heard about that I did get a little worried. I mean its been—like what- a year since they've been trapped in that game and no one's beat it yet?"

"Yeah, just about. Still man, I can't believe that this is your first DIVE. Everyone I know is all into this virtual reality stuff, especially the MMO's. Say bro, if you are ever looking to get into the VR world just hit me up. I wouldn't mind showing you around and besides my buddies and I could use the extra help. Here, let me send you a friend request." Jay said as he pulled up his menu and tapped away until a little notification appeared directly on Gray's Pip-Boy. He tapped on the screen to open the message, but it wasn't responding to his touch.

"Cool, hey—uh—Jay how do I—"

"Oh yeah we've all had that problem too. Use the dial on the side man. It isn't touch screen like everything else is nowadays. This game is very old school. Pretty dumb if you ask me, like who uses knobs anymore right?"

Gray slapped a palm to his forehead. As an avid Fallout fan, he couldn't believe that he'd overlooked such a simple detail. _"Guess I still got to get used to this whole virtual reality thing."_ He thought whilst scratching the back of his head. "It's just the style of the game man. It's very fifties and honestly I've always wanted my own Pip-Boy." He admitted.

"Oh really? Right on." Jay answered simply.

After a small pause and another taste of Nuka Cola, Gray asked something that he'd been curious about ever since he started the game. "Hey, I have to ask, has anyone been outside the vault yet? Seems a little odd that everyone is hanging around here you know?"

"You mean you haven't heard? The vaults don't open up until midnight bro, something about making it fair for all players to start at the same time. So we're all just hanging out in this place for the time being." Jay responded.

"I see then. Well what's there to do around this place then? Seems to me like you've been here a little longer than I have." Gray said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Nothing much really. It's pretty much the same anywhere you go in Vault 406. I don't know about you though man, but that little hottie across the way is calling my name!" Jay said perversely.

"Dude!"

"What? Chicks not your thing?" Jay remarked.

"Of course they are. It's just that how do you know that little 'hottie' over there isn't a guy just playing as a girl?" Gray warned. He wasn't expecting his new blonde friend to burst into laughter however, and had to wait for him to recover from his fit of hysterics before he finally managed to respond.

"Man, I forget that this is your first DIVE. See, there was this whole thing a while back about fake users making these fake avatars to attract kids and desperate guys that led to the developers releasing a patch that made player avatars resemble exactly what they look like in real life." He explained.

"So you mean to tell me that whole customization sequence I went through was for nothing then!" Gray said a little annoyed at the thought of all his hard work going down the drain.

"Pretty much man! Haha! Well not entirely actually. See it keeps your facial features and body build the same, but things like hair and eyes are customizable. The rest of that stuff is pretty much pointless though. I don't know why game developers still add that option in games knowing it doesn't mean jack shit." Jay said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"That's stupid…" Gray mumbled as the image of his badass-self faded away, never to grace the Grand Wasteland with his footsteps.

"Yeah, well man I'm going to hit up that girl I was talking about! Tell you what though bro, you're a pretty cool guy and we should totally get together to light up the wasteland. Since you already have my contact info just shoot me a message as soon as that door opens so we can form a squad 'cause it's no fun bein' a Lone Wanderer! I'll catch ya later man!" he called back as he disappeared into the crowd in search of his 'Fallout Girl'. Gray shook his head and laughed before he departed as well. He walked around in no particular direction and was absorbed into his little Pip-Boy. After toying around with the little menu screen, Gray found it to be very user friendly and even found his inventory tab. In it he had a bonus outfit that he was rewarded for porting over his saved game files from all the other Fallout games. He clicked on it and instantly a picture of the brown western trench coat showed up with a decent sized item summary that read:

 _Thanks for being such an avid Fallout fan! As a reward for your time and dedication, here is a fan-favorite outfit from Fallout 3! The Regulator Duster is the signature outfit of the Regulators, a band of noble do-gooders who rid the wasteland of fowl raiders and other miscreants. Although their organization has not been heard from for several years now, criminals and civilians alike know full well what they are looking at when they see this duster. That's right, justice is about to be served!_

 _Int- +1 Str- +1 Chr- +1 Sm. Arms +10_

"Awesome!" Gray said as he chose to equip the outfit. Suddenly he was enveloped in a white light so bright that he became the center of attention in the entire room. Everyone stood silent in awe as the light slowly vanished, revealing a newly clothed Gray. He opted against donning the cowboy hat though, it wasn't really his style. Then like flies to a steaming pile of shit, everyone in the vicinity swarmed him.

"Hey man how'd you get that!?" One person called.

"You look so cool!" chimed another.

"Dude I'll trade you 500 caps for the outfit." Someone offered.

"1,000!"

"Screw him, 2,500 caps and I'll let you date my sister!"

"Woah! Take it easy guys! It was just an outfit in my inventory! Chill!" Gray yelled as they started grabbing him like a bunch of ghouls. "Check your Pip-Boys, maybe you'll all have one too!" he said in an effort to distract them. As soon as they all looked down at their wrists to see if they ended up receiving the same outfit, Gray wasted no time in disappearing from sight. He quickly pulled up his Pip-Boy and changed back into his Vault 406 jumpsuit. _"Mental note, don't put on the Regulator Duster inside the vault!"_

"Hey! It's not here! That damned liar, told us that so he could give us the slip!" One of the vault dwellers said aloud.

" _Well shit…"_ Gray sighed from just around the corner.

"Yeah I don't see him around anywhere! He probably modded his game so that he started off with a cool outfit and high stats. He's just a cheater!" A small and round vault dweller declared.

"Yeah!" the whole crowd roared.

"Let's find that cheater and show him what Fallout fans think of people who mod!" a brunette haired girl shouted. Gray wanted to jump out and just tell them that it was a misunderstanding. He really did, but after seeing the looks on their faces and the size of the crowd, he really doubted that they'd believe a word he said.

"Look around! He's got to be around here somewhere! I mean he's the only one not wearing a jumpsuit for Christ sake! Find him!" The small and round vault dweller barked.

" _All of this over a stupid outfit! I better get out of here before it's too late."_ Taking great care not to be noticed, Gray acted like he was searching for himself as he cautiously maneuvered his way around the room. He was just about to slip into another hallway when he heard the dreaded words:

"Hey look there he is!" a familiar voice called.

" _Fuck me…"_ he cursed himself. He was about to take off full speed ahead when he realized that they were looking in the wrong direction. _"What the?"_ Gray started to question just what was going on when he saw Jay in the middle of the room mouthing the words:

" _Now's your chance stupid!"_

"Hey I don't see anything, you sure you saw him?" One individual spoke up.

"Yeah, I swear I saw him just now! He must've slipped away behind the corner!" Jay reassured the crazed crowd.

"Like hell he did! Let's get him guys!" The same brunette haired girl shouted as she and the dozens of other vault dwellers charged around the corner in pursuit of their cheater. When every last one had disappeared around the corner, Jay snuck away and followed after Gray. After a few minutes of searching, Jay found his friend hiding behind a stack of crates holding hundreds of bottles of Nuka-Cola.

"Couldn't get enough of the sugary goodness now could ya?" Jay joked.

"Shut up! Are they gone?" Gray whispered from behind the crate.

"Hey man, that's no way to talk to someone who just saved your ass, but yeah they are all gone." With a relieved sigh Gray started to climb over the crates when Jay decided to mess with him. "Oh shit! Gray get back they're coming!" he solidified the act with a worried expression after his "peek" around the corner.

"Wha—oh shit!" Gray yelped as his foot got caught in one of the crates and he fell backwards, spilling countless bottles of Nuka-Cola everywhere. Jay erupted into a fit of laughter as he watched Gray's tumble unfold. "Ha ha, very funny asshole." Gray said as he rose to his feet. His vault jumpsuit was soaked and stained with the sugary cola.

"Oh come on, if you were in my position you would have done it too. I didn't expect you to fall bro! I swear! Forgive me?" Jay said with a very ugly puppy dog face.

"Yeah sure, just don't ever make that face again." Gray said half mindedly. The only thing on Gray's mind at the moment was to get into another jumpsuit, because being in one that was wet and sticky was not exactly the situation he wanted to be in.

"What face? You mean this one?" Jay said as he did it again.

"Yeah, the mutant face." Gray teased.

"Mutant face? What are you talking about, dude? That's the face of the most beautiful puppy you've ever seen, modeled after my very own pug!"

"Well, you should stop. You're insulting your pug." Gray said with a slight grin.

"Shut up!" Jay said as he pushed Gray playfully. "Hey, you have any idea what time it is?" he asked.

"No, why? Just check your Pip-Boy."

"Oh, yeah you're right. It's 11:32. You know what that means right?" Jay said excitedly.

"No not a clue, honestly." Gray answered without much thought. He cycled through his Pip-Boy to reach his inventory and was so happy that he'd grabbed the extra vault suit sitting in his room. _"Thank God!"_ he thought as he equipped the fresh jumpsuit.

"Only thirty minutes until they crack open the vault man! We should get to the entrance before it gets too crowded." Jay suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Besides the sooner I'm free of those crazed fans the better." He said with a laugh.

"Yeah I hear you bro." Jay chuckled. "Come on, it's this way." He said as he led the way down the winding halls of the vault. After about ten minutes of wandering the duo finally reached the giant main hall that was their final stopping point before entering the tunnels that housed the vault door.

Compared to the entrance halls of Fallout 4, this vault was massive. The 'cogwheel' door was much larger than the one's from previous Fallout games, no doubt to accommodate the large number of players wanting to get out. Dozens of couches and tables lined the side walls, leaving more than enough space for all of the vault dwellers to come and sit. Players were also conversing up on the second floor railings that overlooked the main hall, filling the room with the chatter of voices and cries of excitement.

"Crazy ain't it?" Jay asked after seeing the awe in Gray's expression. Never did Gray imagine that virtual reality was this powerful. The atmosphere was unlike anything he'd ever experienced as a gamer. It was like being at Comic-Con, except the theme was strictly Fallout.

"Yeah, I remember when the only way you could talk to someone was with a mic or a chat board—now you can actually talk with these people face to face. I just never thought I'd see so many people in a game before you know? I always thought us gamers were a minority—something of a dying breed." Gray replied.

"You really did come from the stone age didn't ya? A mic and a chat board! Man that's old!" Jay let out a hearty laugh. "Jeez, man you've got a lot to learn about the virtual world buddy. I'd tell you about it, but I think that it'd be better if you learned yourself." He said as they slid past the crowd and over onto one of the empty couches.

"Does everything always feel this real? Even the pain?" Gray asked a little worriedly. While he was amazed at how each of his senses were at play in this world, he was kind of nervous as to how the game worked out its pain scale. He knew just how gory (and painful) Fallout could be and the last thing he wanted was to know what it felt like to lose a limb.

"Oh yeah." Jay said with a nod of his head. Gray's eyes visibly widened and it took everything that Jay had to not burst out laughing. Despite the effort, Jay cracked and erupted into a fit of laughter.

"OH MAN! You should've seen you're face!" He said whilst holding his stomach. Gray looked around embarrassingly, hoping that no one was paying any attention to them. Fortunately for him, everybody else seemed preoccupied with their own business to care about the hysterical teen who was about to fall over from laughter.

"Whatever dude. I knew it was a joke anyways." Gray tried to play it off. Jay didn't buy it for one second and wiped a tear from his eye as he caught his breath.

"Yeah, sure you did." He said with a knowing smile that Gray ignored. "Seriously though, no. You can feel everything in the game world, but death and injury is something that the developer's thankfully have left out. I mean, you can feel like a scratch and stuff—but that's like all the pain you'll feel for just about anything. Like in this shooting game I play with my other friends, I get shot in the head all the time and all I feel is like someone flicking my forehead. Nothing too bad honestly. It's just something that lets you know you've taken damage." Jay explained.

"I see. That's pretty badass how everything works. I mean I know people said that Virtual Reality was awesome, but I never thought it was this advanced."

"Yeah, man and most of us would agree with ya. Oh hey!" Jay said, suddenly rising. "My friends are here! Sweet! Hope you're not shy or anything man."

"Not at all." Gray answered as Jay waved his group of friends over. There were three people in total and all of them looked about the same age as Jay. The tallest one had dark skin and was well built. He had a pair of glasses that were bent on one side and he honestly looked like he'd be the captain of a football team. Next to him was a girl of average height with pink hair and pale skin. Based on her proximity to the taller one, Gray assumed that the two of them were a couple and that left the last person. About as tall as Gray and with no features that really stood out, the only thing Gray got from the last guy was that he was an average joe.

"Tom! My man! How'd the game go!" Jay said to the taller one, who shook his head in disappointment as he went in for their signature handshake.

"Man, we got our asses handed to us. I'm telling you, those guys are going to go to State watch." Tom replied.

"Aw fuck man that sucks." He said to Tom. "Lisa! How have you been!" Jay exclaimed, suddenly switching his attention over to the pink haired girl.

"I've been pretty good. Who's your friend?" Lisa asked politely.

"Oh shit! Where are my manners! Guys this is Gray." He said as he gestured over to the newcomer. "Gray this is Tom, Lisa, and Ryan." Jay introduced.

"Hey guys, nice to meet you." Gray said, a little nervously. Admittedly, he felt a little out of place in this group, but then again it was a lot better than being alone. In the real world, Gray didn't really have many friends and that wasn't really something that bothered him at all. It wasn't that he was shy or bad at making friends, but more so that he really didn't care much for other people.

"Likewise!" Lisa said cheerily.

"Any friend of Jay's is a friend of ours, man. Welcome to the group!" Tom replied.

"Nice to meet you as well." Ryan said somewhat formally.

The trio took a seat in the couch opposite of them and began discussing amongst one another about school, drama, and their plans for the game. Gray didn't say much in the conversations and preferred to listen as his mind wandered over into his own life.

His thoughts drifted toward his schoolwork. Even though he lived on his own, Gray still felt the pressures of getting good grades and doing well in school not only from Alyson's parents, but the entire school board as well. Everyone seemed to know more about his parents than he did and the school board can't have the Celthric prodigal son doing poorly in his education. There was also the occasional letter that he'd get from his parents to do well or else. He didn't really know what 'or else' meant and he didn't want to find out either. Seeing how much weight his name carried in Boston was enough of a sign not to go against his parents' wishes.

"GRAY!"

Shaken out of his self-induced stupor, Gray found himself back in the Grand Hall of Vault 406 with the rest of Jay's group staring at him like he was some sort of freak.

"Jesus! Are you alright man? We've been calling out to you forever and you wouldn't answer us." Jay said with his hands on his hips.

"Oh—sorry about that, I guess I just spaced out for a while there." Gray said sheepishly.

"It's cool. We thought you might be laggy or something, but now that you're here what do you think about hitting this place when the doors open?" Before Gray could ask what he meant, Jay shoved a Pip-Boy in his face with a map of the local area outside the vault.

"Vargas Millworks?" Gray read the highlighted location off the map.

"Yeah! See, most of the groups will be heading over to Junction City which is to the North. We figured we'd skip that route and just get straight into the grinding. With the five of us working together, I'm sure we can take down a couple of low-level enemies lurking around in the zone." Tom reasoned.

"But how do you know that they are low-levels?" Gray asked. While this was his first DIVE, Gray was no stranger to the world of Fallout. Just because the primary enemies seemed weak, enough of them at once could mean the death of even the most experienced of players. The fact that none of them were armed either also made the proposition seem like the 'early-loot' approach would be more trouble than what it was worth.

"It's the start of the game! Besides, Ryan was able to break into one of the guard rooms to get us these." Tom answered whilst brandishing a combat knife discreetly. Gray raised an eyebrow and looked over to Ryan who was smiling proudly at his accomplishment.

" _Must be the group locksmith then."_ Gray said, a little upset that he hadn't thought of the idea of looting the place sooner.

"Well, I'm all for it." Gray said much to the group's excitement. "So after we hit this place what next? Any other locations on the map you guys want to target?" Gray asked.

"We don't know. We only heard of this place because one of the NPC's brought it up in conversation and it showed up on our map. Then there's also the stupid limitation of the damn map too." Jay huffed.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked in confusion.

"The map only shows twenty-five miles in any direction and it's one big square, making it really hard to tell where you are at. You can't bring up a world map or search for any locations unless somebody brings them up or you directly discover them yourself. It's so stupid." Ryan explained.

Already, Gray could tell that he was the most experienced Fallout player of the group by their complaints. Fallout had always been that way, so it didn't bother Gray all that much that they'd have to find new locations through exploration. In his opinion, that made things much more exciting. He did find it odd though that they couldn't bring up an entire world map. Given how vast the Grand Wasteland was, he would've liked to know exactly where he was at in the United States.

"Well, either way we'll figure it out soon enough. Only two minutes until that door cracks open baby! WOO!" Jay cheered.

Although Gray wasn't showing it, he was giddy with excitement. In just a few minutes Gray wouldn't just be playing Fallout, he'd be living it.

 _If only he would have known what was to come…_

The final two minutes seemed like an eternity, as the Grand Hall suddenly grew very quiet. More and more players began to flood the room until mostly everyone was packed together like sardines. The proximity didn't seem to bother anyone, as all of their eyes were focused on the large clock atop the vault door. Everyone seemed to be counting down the seconds—the time was nearly at hand…

"10—9—8—7…" the room began to chant like it was New Year's Eve. "…6—5—4—3—2…"

"ONE!" Everyone cheered as the clock struck twelve and butterflies danced around the stomachs of everyone in the room.

But the door didn't open.

"What the hell!?" One player cried out from the other end of the room.

"It's midnight already! The door is supposed to open!" Another one shouted in frustration. A few more seconds of silence and disbelief passed—then all hell broke loose.

"BOOOOOOO!" players yelled as they threw whatever items they could get their hands on at the door. Others scrambled to the console attached to the wall and started punching in random combinations to see if that would get the door open. Some players left the Grand Hall completely, deciding to come back when 'Bethesda got its shit together' in order to stay clear of the chaos that enveloped the room.

Jay and his friends had joined the crowd in screaming and complaining, as Gray stood there and watched the madness consume the Fallout community. He knew people were excited for the launch of the game, but to see them act like this was completely bizarre. With such a big launch taking place, surely the servers were going to have problems with everyone trying to get out onto the Grand Wasteland at the same time.

" _Why are people so impatient?"_ Gray thought with a shake of his head. Despite everyone's complaints and attempt to open the doors, nothing happened. Five minutes had passed and everyone was still locked inside the Vault. For most, that presented one option—time to logout.

 _Only they couldn't…_

"Hey! Where's the logout button!?" One man dangerously cried out. Immediately, an epidemic swept the room as everyone was driven to their Pip-Boy's to see if the man's words were true. Gray too, was one of those caught up in the search for the logout button. One by one, people found that their logout buttons were also missing. Some people began to murmur amongst one another and a couple of people began to panic. Lisa was one of those people, as Tom and Jay tried their best to calm her down.

Even though he could see that they were acting calm, Gray could tell that they—and everyone else in the room were just as scared as he was. By now, everybody had heard of the Sword Art Online incident and how it's players became trapped in their game after their logout button 'mysteriously' vanished. A part of him wanted to believe that this was just some 'glitch', but deep down he could feel that something wasn't right. Too much had gone wrong for this to be a casual 'glitch'. They were trapped, every single one of them. Like sheep in their pens for the wolves to come prey on…

And out came a wolf.

Gray hadn't noticed it before, but to the right of the Vault door was a balcony that overlooked the entire hall. The railings of the second floor didn't connect to it and the balcony seemed to be a part of what looked like the Overseer's office. Standing at the balcony was a hooded figure who was ominously looking over everyone in the room, like a wolf in search of its next meal. The room fell silent once everybody noticed his presence and awaited an announcement.

For a while, nothing happened. The people below stared at the man above—who neither moved nor spoke—only watched. No one could make out any facial features, but people swore that they could feel his eyes scanning the room. Gray watched him carefully. He hadn't moved at all. People began to whisper amongst each other, afraid of the hooded man—the Overseer—who had come in the midst of pandemonium.

 _What did he want? Was he responsible for everything that's gone wrong so far? Why isn't he doing anything?_

Then—like something straight out of a horror movie—the hooded figure fell down from the balcony and crashed onto the floor. The hood fell down and finally everyone saw his face— there was a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. They weren't looking at an NPC either, as evidenced by the Pip-Boy on his arm—oh no, they were staring at the face of a dead man. Players around the man screamed and backed away in a frenzy while others circled around him to investigate.

Before anyone could reach any conclusions, bone-chilling laughter was heard coming from the Overseer's office. Every hair on the back of Gray's neck stood an end and while his brain told him to run he found himself rooted to his spot like so many others. The madmen's laughter grew louder and louder as a figure soon emerged from the door, dragging something behind him. It didn't take long for anybody to realize that he was dragging a dead body, as he hoisted it over in the railing and dropped her to the floor in the same manner that the hooded figure fell.

The body was covered in blood as was the Madman standing with his foot on the railing. His mouth was stretched in a bloody perpetual smile and his face was covered with half of a clown mask. He began to twirl a revolver in his hand as he giggled non-stop. His eyes swept the room with enough bloodlust to send several people in the room into a nervous breakdown. Behind him emerged two assault armored soldiers sporting heavy assault rifles.

Faced with this crazed adversary, a few people gathered enough strength to break free of their stupor and make for an exit, but the Madman wouldn't have it. Catching his revolver and laughing hysterically, the man fired off two warning shots at those attempting to leave. Getting the warning they stayed glued to their spots and made no more moves to escape.

Having seen enough, one man found the courage to stand up to the Madman. "Oi! What the hell is your problem shooting people like that!?" The Madman giggled uncontrollably as he tilted his head at the sudden show of rebellion. "Yeah! I'm talking to you man! What's the god da…" One bullet ripped through his throat, effectively ending his sentence. Two more followed to the chest and head as the man collapsed in a heap.

" _Oh my god…"_ Gray thought in horror as he watched the player die before his very eyes. It took everything inside of him not to puke at the very moment, as others fainted and let out the very thing that Gray was trying to hold in.

The laughing finally stopped as the Madman sheathed his revolver and switched demeanors entirely. The insane persona that everybody had just witnessed was replaced with one of seriousness, like someone just flipped a switch inside his head.

"Sorry you all had to see that—sometimes I can get—er—carried away." The man said in a deep voice.

"Wh—wh—what do you want from us?" someone in the crowd managed to say.

"What do I want? Well, I want what was taken from us." He said cryptically. "And the person that took it, is in this very room. You know who you are…come forward now and I will be reasonable. If not—well you've seen what happens when I get carried away." He chuckled.

"You mean you'll let us logout?" One person asked, much to the armored assault guards and the Madman's amusement.

"Oh darling, **there is no logging out of this game.** This is your life now. Do you know what that means? That's right you Wastelanders! You live here and you can DIE here. Isn't that what you've always wanted!?" he exclaimed crazily.

Gray's whole world stopped. _"I'm trapped here!?"_ he fell back onto the couch in complete disbelief. _"No—this can't be happening! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"_

One look around the room and the same reaction could be seen on everyone's faces. Their worst fears had come true. Like the poor souls of Sword Art Online—they were all trapped inside of a video game and there was nothing they could do about it.

"No! NO! You're lying! I don't believe you!" One girl cried out in complete hysteria.

"Believe what you want. I'm sure you've already tried logging out and found that the button has vanished. It isn't coming back either." The man laughed wildly.

"We'll do whatever you want! Just let us go! PLEASE!" another man begged.

"Oh no—no—no—no—no! I can't do that! You stole from us! Did you not think that there'd be consequences!?" The Madman raved incredulously.

"But we didn't…"

"BUT YOU DID! Or at least one of you did and in my opinion, that just makes all of you guilty by association. Lucky for you, I can be a reasonable person. Now, I can't just let you all free but I can promise most of you will still be alive tomorrow if you cooperate. All I'm asking is that the person who stole from me and my friends step forward." The Madman leaned on the rail.

Gray watched as people began conversing with one another as everyone in the room tried to locate the mystery thief. The Madman watched them all intently, waiting to see just how much they valued their lives. Thinking about his time in the Vault, Gray didn't really go anywhere else or explore much of anything. That pretty much assured that he couldn't have possibly been the culprit and he breathed a mental sigh of relief. _"I'm safe."_ He thought as he turned his attention over to his newfound group only to see them all trembling with fear. Then it hit him.

" _Ryan…he broke into one of the locked doors. Could he—could he have been the thief!?"_ He was too far away to hear their conversation, but he could tell that they were arguing over whether they should come forward or not. Lisa seemed to be heavily against the idea based on her facial expressions, but was outnumbered three to one. Gray had a bad feeling about what was about to come. He felt like he should go over and say something, but he lost his chance the moment Ryan called out to the Madman on the balcony.

"Um—s-s-s-ir." He stammered. "I—uh—think that I may have been the one to have s-s-stolen from you." Ryan said, his voice taking a higher pitch than usual. He could hardly stand straight as he knees wobbled, threatening to buckle in at any given second. "I j-j-just stole a c-c-c-couple of knives-s-s fr-fr-from the armory. I didn't know—I didn't know that they belonged to you sir. I promise I'll give them back! Just don't hurt me please!" Ryan cried out as he held out the stolen knives.

For a couple of seconds there was only silence in the grand hall. Many in the room couldn't believe that they were being held up over a couple of knives and others were just hoping that the confession would be the end of this nightmare. The Madman didn't show any sign of reaction, maintaining a blank stare and that perpetual smile on his face as everyone held their breaths. Maybe he was just as surprised as they were that a lanky kid with glasses was the one who'd stolen from him. Gray could've sworn that he could hear every heartbeat in the room at the moment.

 _Du-dum._

 _Du-dum._

 _Du-dum._

Like the roaring of drums, the heartbeats only grew louder and louder. The sound was beginning to push Gray to the edge, something needed to happen—something had to break the tension that was building. It was absolutely maddening.

 _Du-dum. Du-dum. Du-dum._

 _Du-dum. Du-dum. Du-dum._

 _Du-dum. Du-dum. Du-dum._

 _And then…_

Gunshots. Three of them to be precise. Everybody in the room hit the deck, Gray included. People screamed, others broke out into crying fits, but only one was dead. Daring to raise his head, Gray beheld a sight he did not want to see; lying limp just a few feet away from him was the lifeless form of Ryan. Lisa was the first of the group to react with a high pitched shriek of terror. Tom and Jay were expressionless. Gray watched the scene in horror. _"How could this happen—he—he confessed!"_

"Do you think this is a fucking game people!?" The intensity in the Madman's voice was enough to rip everyone's attention from Ryan's body towards him. "Do you all really believe that I'd be holding you here because of some stupid fucking knives!? How dare that little shit insult me—JOKER!" he finally introduced himself.

Gray heard the ravings of the madman, but he was paying no attention to them. The only thing he could focus on was Ryan and his grieving friends. He didn't really know them that well at all, but he could feel their pain. Overcome with rage, Gray needed an out. He needed to vent his frustrations before he completely lost his sanity. In an act that even he couldn't comprehend, Gray grabbed an empty Nuka-Cola bottle off the floor and threw it at Joker.

The bottle sailed through the air and caught its target completely off guard. Thrown with enough force to shatter into pieces upon impact, Joker stumbled backwards and nearly fell onto his ass. Seeing their leader attacked so suddenly, the guards reacted by raising their rifles and prepared to unload into the crowd below. Instinctively, everyone in the room ducked—everyone except Gray Celthric.

Recovering almost instantly from the surprise attack, Joker ran to the railing to locate his attacker. Even with his face stretched into a smile that didn't stop his face from naturally trying to form a frown, producing what can only be described as something out of a horror movie.

"Who the fuck threw that!" he roared. Gray's body tensed up from the surge of adrenaline that was now running through him. Even though he knew what was about to come, he didn't feel scared anymore. He felt a strange satisfaction, like he'd committed an act for the greater good. He couldn't explain it, but Gray felt stronger than ever. With one deep breath and one final heave of his chest, Gray opened his mouth to claim responsibility for his actions:

"I threw the bottle." A feminine voice called out. Gray snapped his head to the right almost immediately to find the location of the voice. Standing almost as defiant as he was, the girl was about Gray's height with short-shoulder length brown hair. Her face had a few freckles and she had a natural look about her. Like Ryan, she wasn't somebody that particularly stood out amongst a crowd. Yet, here she was claiming responsibility for something that she'd taken no part of.

Now, Gray was by no means a prideful person, but he wasn't about to let someone else die for an act that he committed. "No, I threw the bottle." He said just as Joker pointed his revolver at the girl. Despite feeling like he'd fixed the situation, Gray could've sworn he heard a dissatisfied snort come from the girl.

"Please, he doesn't even have a clear shot at you. I was the one who threw the bottle." The girl spoke up once more, earning a look of confusion from Gray. Joker's revolver bounced in between the two as he tried to discern who was telling the truth. Then, he found a simple solution.

"Brave souls the two of you. Too bad, you'll both be dying here." Joker began laughing as he aimed his revolver at Gray and pulled the trigger. Gray closed his eyes and awaited his death only to hear a distinct 'click'.

"Should've counted your bullets bitch." He heard the girl from his right say. Reaching down into her boot, the girl pulled out a combat knife and threw it with deadly precision at the revolver wielding madman. "MACK! THE DOOR NOW!" she called as the knife embedded itself in Joker's shoulder.

An alarm sounded as compressed air blew out from the walls and the mechanism keeping the door shut began to slowly move the large cogwheel.

"WHAT!? AGH! THAT LITTLE BITCH! HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO GET THE DOOR OPEN! THEY MUST'VE HACKED INTO THE SYSTEM!" Joker exclaimed in frustration. The vault door was now cracked open halfway and players immediately flocked to the passage to freedom. Unfortunately, the doorway was not large enough to compensate the large flow of traffic as players tried to stampede past each other with little success. "DAMN IT! YOU TWO CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS AND UNLEASH **THEM**! NO ONE IS TO ESCAPE THIS VAULT!" Joker barked out as the two soldiers did as they were told.

The sound of gunfire broke out over the room as the soldiers unloaded their assault rifles into the exposed crowd below. Gray instinctively dove behind one of the couches as several people were mowed down without mercy. He looked around for Jay and the others, but saw no sign of them. Assuming the worst, Gray made up his mind that his only option now was to escape. As soon as he heard the soldiers above begin to reload, the black haired teen sprinted for the cave. Many others seemed to have the same idea that he did as well, as it became a mad scramble for survival.

" _I'm almost there! I can make it!"_ Gray pushed himself as he stepped over the bodies of the fallen in his break for freedom. _"Just a few more steps and I—"_

 _BOOM!_

Gray's heart skipped a beat as the roar of Joker's revolver filled the hall. He cried out in agony as a bullet found its way into the back of his leg. The pain was unlike anything that he had ever felt before. He could feel the warm blood oozing down his leg as his momentum carried him forward and he tumbled into the cave in an excruciating amount of pain.

Immediately after, the sound of assault fire picked up again and those that were too slow to make it safely into the cave were shot dead before they could get away. Despite the dozens that had succumbed to the gunfire, many vault dwellers did make it out into the cave. Gray watched helplessly as they all ran by him, none bothering to help him in his time of need. Looking over to the vault door, Gray saw that there were many others in his predicament, trying to crawl their way to freedom.

As a matter of fact, he recognized one of the individuals struggling to pull their way out of the vault door… Tom. Mustering all the strength he had left, Gray propped himself up and started dragging himself over to the vault door. _"I've gotta help him. Then we can both get out of here and find the others…"_

Fighting past the pain, Gray moved inch by inch, getting closer and closer to Tom who was just a few feet away from breaking past the doorway. _"Almost…"_ before he could reach his friend, a hand wrapped around his mouth and Gray begun being dragged the opposite way. _"_ _ **mff! Mmmmff! Hmmph!"**_ he struggled against his captor, but to no avail. Looking back, Gray breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Tom had made it past the doorway, only to have that relief stripped away as Tom was grabbed by his legs and dragged back into the hall. His shriek of terror sent shivers down his spine as he was quickly silenced by two gunshots. _"No! NOOOO!"_ he fought harder against his captor, desperate to break free from the iron grip.

"God damn it! Will you cut it out! I'm trying to help you!" came the hoarse whisper of his captor. Hearing the word 'help' froze Gray on the spot and he turned around in confusion to see just who had come to his rescue. To his surprise, it was the girl from earlier whom had taken the blame for the bottle alongside him. "If you want to stay alive do exactly as I say. Got it?" she whispered quickly.

At a loss for words, Gray only nodded his head in response and allowed himself to be dragged along. "Look I don't have a lot of time to explain what's going on to you, but if you want to make it out of here alive we need to work together. Got it?" she asked as she dragged him up to the right of the cave. They took cover behind some rocks as she quickly went to work on his bleeding leg. "Damn. It's been crippled. I was hoping I didn't have to use this, but we don't have time—hold still, this might sting a little." She said as she pulled out a stimpak and jammed it into Gray's leg.

"HMMMPPPHHHH!" The girl quickly raised a hand to muffle his scream, as the insta-healing medicine went to work. After the moment of intense pain, Gray was starting to feel much better and watched in amazement as the wound started to close.

"Alright—that should get rid of the 'cripple' effect, but your leg still needs to do some healing. Try not to do anything crazy alright?" she advised.

"Hey Butch! We've got a couple of survivors who are holed up in the back of the Vault in the weapons room. Sons-a-bitches are proving to be more troublesome than we thought." A voice rang out into the cave.

"Shit! Here they come. Listen, don't move a muscle or do anything to attract attention to yourself. Use this only if you have to." She relayed as she placed a combat knife in his hands and took cover behind a rock.

"Are you kidding me? How hard is it to take out a group of inexperienced players with fucking pea shooters for fucks sake? Take those three with you and clear them out. The rest of us will head into the cave and mop up whatever _**they**_ didn't." Butch ordered.

"Will do. You three—on me!" the subordinate soldier called. Gray peeked out from his respective rock and saw the remaining soldiers' flashlights shine out into the cave. The moment he saw them set foot in the cave Gray retreated behind his rock and held his knife with a death-like grip, silently praying that they didn't come near him. He jumped when he heard gunshots, covering his ears to combat the ringing the noise started up.

Despite his attempts to drown out the noise, Gray could still hear the final moans of those who failed to escape deeper into the cave and the crunching of dirt beneath heavy metal boots. Just behind his rock of safety, people were dying. If that girl hadn't helped him—Gray would have been one of those stragglers back there. He'd be the one being executed. Instead, he was hiding behind a rock—cowering in fear.

He never thought something like this could ever happen. Never had he felt so hopeless. He never felt so useless. Videogames were supposed to be his escape, a place that he could retreat to and become whoever he wanted. There was never any danger. There was never any real sense of fear. He was the one in control. That's how it was supposed to be, after all it's how every gamer is supposed to feel.

Yet, there he was—behind that rock—listening to gunshot after gunshot. He wasn't running to their aid like some god-like hero or supreme gun slinging badass like he always did. He wasn't strategizing his next move against another player in some PvP matchup. No—for the first time, Gray was putting his life onto the line and it was absolutely terrifying.

The footsteps grew nearer and nearer. Gray's heart was bashing against his chest like that of a caged animal desperate to be set free. The sweat poured from his forehead and the flashlight finally found its way to his rock. _"No…not like this—please turn around—please turn around—please turn around…"_ he whimpered silently to himself.

"Devin! We're gonna go on ahead! When you've finished checking the bodies meet us at the second rally point!" Butch called out.

"Will do!" the soldier answered simply. As the seconds passed, the sound of dirt crunching beneath the weight of heavy soldier armor became the most terrifying sound that Gray had ever heard. Then came the words that he hoped he wouldn't have to hear. "So you thought you could sneak away from us now, could ya? I've got to say you almost gave me and my boys the slip earlier—but, you would have had a better chance running." Gray could have sworn he heard the man smile as he loaded a fresh clip into his assault rifle. "Any last words?"

Paralyzed by fear, Gray could not move nor find any words to try and save himself from his current predicament. However, someone else did.

"No—please—I'm too young to die man, I'll do anything—just don't kill me—Please!" Gray recognized the voice almost immediately. Jay.

"Oh, I love how they beg." Devin started to laugh as he raised his rifle.

"No please!"

" _I can't just sit here and do nothing!"_ Gray thought as his body acted on its own. Leaping over the rock Gray collided with the heavily armored soldier and the two tumbled down the small slope together. Devin lost his weapon in the collision, but Gray kept an iron like grip on his dagger as they came to a stop at the base of the hill.

"You little shit! You'll pay for that!" Devin cried as he and Gray quickly rose to their feet. A trained killer, Devin stepped forward with a brutal punch to the jaw that sent Gray staggering backward. Nervous and inexperienced, Gray swung wildly with the knife hoping that he'd put an end to this fight before Devin put an end to him. Gray's erratic movements were easy to dodge, leaving the fight completely one-sided as the soldier easily avoided the attacks and got in close. Before Gray knew it, he was being hoisted into the air and thrown onto the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

The knife flew out of his hands and Gray was left defenseless as his attacker pulled a pistol and prepared to finish Gray off once and for all. Before he could however, Jay fired a shot that caught Devin in the upper thigh. The soldier winced in pain and quickly turned his attention to the blonde-teen. Jay was quick enough to get another shot off that caught Devin in the lower abdomen, but the third and final shot came from Devin's pistol.

"NOOOOOOO!" Gray yelled out as Jay fell backward, gasping for breath as blood seeped from his chest wound.

"Now it's your turn." Devin said in victory as he turned his attention toward the grief-stricken Gray.

"Not quite." Came the reply of Gray's mysterious feminine savior, whom came charging in from Devin's blind side. The duo crashed into a rock, with Gray's ally having the upper hand because of her surprise attack. Lifting her knife into the air, the girl brought it down into the exposed neck area of her opponent. The soldier struggled fervently against her, but his life force faded away before he could do anything and he died unable to finish the job. "God damn it! Didn't I tell you not to bring any attention to yourself? What in the hell were you thinking?" The girl turned around with the intent to continue scolding Gray, only to see him kneeling near Jay in his final moments.

"Jay! Jay—listen to me buddy—you're going to be alright I promise. Me and my friend here are going to get you out of here—do you hear me Jay?" Gray said as he tried to figure out what he was going to do to help his dying friend.

"I want to go—home—man. I don't want to—die man." He said in between breathing spasms. Jay gripped Gray's forearm tightly, as tears left his eyes and he continued to shake uncontrollably. "I—want to go—home—Gray. I don't want—to die—I don't wanna die—I don't wanna die!"

"You're not going to die Jay. I'm going to get you out of here I promise!" Gray said as he tried to position himself to help Jay to his feet. "Hey, what are you doing just standing there? Get over here and help me!" Gray commanded to the freckle-faced girl.

"It's no use. He's already lost too much blood. Even if he did last until we broke out of here, he'd only slow us down." She answered simply as she retrieved her knife and the rest of the soldier's weapons.

Jay looked to Gray with a pale-stricken face and wide-eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, the odds of Jay making it out alive were slim to none. Still, that wasn't going to stop him from not trying. He would never be able to live with himself if he just left him to die as he was. "She doesn't know what she's talking about. We're going to get you out of here one way or another. Nobody is going to die!"

"Listen, I know—" The girl began.

"No you listen! I don't care what you do, but I am not leaving this cave without him. I am not just going to leave him to die here, not when he has a chance."

"But—" the girl tried again, only to be interrupted once more.

"But what!? If you want to go then just go! You've already proven that you can handle yourself—it's not like you need us to slow you down!" Gray argued. Despite his words, Gray knew that without her there was a huge possibility that neither of them would make it out of the cave alive. He wouldn't admit that though and just hoped that his words would get through to her. "All I need to do is find a way to…" he started to mumble to himself.

"Hey—"

"Not now! I'm thinking." Gray shushed her as tried to focus.

"Hey!" she said a little louder, but Gray ignored her and kept mumbling to himself while he tried to dress Jay's wounds.

"HEY!" she yelled, having lost all her patience.

"WHAT!?" Gray yelled back.

"He's dead. You're wasting your time."

"What're you—oh no…" the rest of Gray's words hitched in his throat as he saw the lifeless eyes of Jay staring back at him. "No—no—no—no…this wasn't supposed to happen—DAMN IT! This wasn't—ARGH!" Gray pounded on the dirt floor, barely managing to keep back the tears threatening to fall.

"I don't have time for this. The next patrol is sure to pass through here at any moment and I don't want to be here when they do. If you want to wait around for them then be my guest. I'm sure that they will have no issue with reuniting you with your friend." She said harshly as she started walking deeper into the cave.

At first, Gray said nothing as she passed by him. What could he say? He didn't blame her for wanting to leave. After seeing the atrocities committed within the vault, he didn't know if he could name anyone who'd want to stick around to face these madmen. All of this came rushing at Gray like a tidal wave and he was lucky he was still above water. However, if he continued on in his current mindset he'd only go down like Jay.

This wasn't some video game that he could just waltz on through anymore. He couldn't turn it off if he got frustrated. He wouldn't get a restart if he made a fatal mistake. Oh no, everything was now a matter of life or death. Kill or be killed. One look at Jay and Gray knew where he stood.

" _I'm sorry."_ He mentally apologized to the deceased as he rose from his knees and called out, "Wait!" The girl stopped and turned to face him, an expressionless look on her face as she waited to see if he had finally come to his senses. _"But, I can't just sit around here and do nothing."_ He finished his thoughts as he turned his attention to his waiting companion. "Clearly, you're not crazy enough to face them alone are you?"

She didn't know whether or not she'd finally lost it or if something else was affecting her judgement because she didn't understand how she could possibly laugh at a time like this, but she did. "Let's get going." She said with a soft smile as Gray jogged up to join her. "Oh and for what it's worth—I'm sorry about your friend." She added.

"Yeah, me too." Gray commented as he followed behind her. She could tell that he was still not fully over what happened, but at least now they were moving. It wasn't like she was heartless or anything, because more than anyone, she understood what he was going through. She'd lost a lot of friends today, but unlike Gray her friends knew that there was a possibility that they wouldn't make it out alive. They knew that the moment they signed up. They had time to accept it, to say their goodbyes. But now wasn't the time to mourn. She had a mission to accomplish and that was all that mattered. She would not let her friends' sacrifices go to waste.

"My name is Eve-in case you were wondering." She said, realizing that they hadn't formally been introduced yet.

"Good to know. I'm Gray." He responded.

"Alright then—here you might want to take these in case we get into a tight situation." She said as she handed him a 10mm pistol and a combat knife. "The pistol only has about six or seven shots left. Use them only when you think you have no other choice. I'd prefer we avoided any more confrontation, but in case it is inevitable, let's try and do it quietly."

"Agreed." Gray answered. Opening his Pip-Boy, Gray stored the pistol and kept the knife out to use as his main weapon. "So, what is going to be our first move? I'm pretty sure that they've blocked off the main exit by now and from what I've seen that is the only way out." He asked.

"Unfortunately, you may be right about that. This cave is massive though and has multiple routes that lead to the final blast door into the Grand Wasteland. With any luck, the team that left before us will still be searching for survivors and won't have made it to the exit yet. If that's the case, then we should probably get a move on. Stick to the shadows and follow my lead. I don't need you causing another ruckus."

"Got it." Gray said sheepishly as the duo delved deeper into Vault 406's cave system.

 _Meanwhile…_

He'd seen the footage at least one-hundred times already and he still couldn't wrap his head around how they got the drop on him. One thing was for sure though, the boy who threw the bottle and his female accomplice were going to pay. No one gets the best of Joker. Nobody. As angry as he was, the maniacal madman also felt a great deal of fear, for he knew the consequences that would arise should he fail this mission.

" _The Runners won't get away. I'll kill everyone in this damn vault if I have too!"_ He thought as he sent a security terminal flying across the room. The clunky computer smashed against the wall, exploding on contact before falling on the ground in an electrical fritz. Just as he was about to lose his mind, two soldiers walked in.

"Sir!" they addressed him.

"What!?" Joker answered angrily. Although they were used to Joker's extreme emotional outbursts, his tone didn't stop the heavily-armored marines from flinching. Even though they knew the consequences that would befall them if they failed, the two soldiers were far more afraid of the horrors that Joker would put them through should they disappoint him.

"T-t-the scout team just radioed in." The smaller of the two soldiers stammered.

"And?"

"They've found them." The soldier reported.

"Found who?" Joker waited, unsure of whether there was something worth celebrating.

"The two Runners. The one that threw the bottle and his accomplice." The soldier finished.

"Where?" he asked.

"Going toward the cave exit."

"Good. The little piggies are trapped." He rubbed his hands together menacingly. Bring them to me…alive. I have some—things that I'd like to sort out with them." Joker chuckled evilly to himself.

"Uh—about that—the Runners are proving to be more resourceful than we thought…those two have managed to wipe out Buck's crew and evaded Sergei's scout team. Without reinforcements, it is going to be tough to find them on our own in the large caves." The soldier admitted.

"Reinforcements?" Joker practically hissed. Something about the tone of his voice was unsettling to the two soldiers. Joker was never good with his emotions. Even with his perpetual smile, people could always tell how he was feeling and at that moment, his soldiers knew that he was pissed.

"Is something the matter sir?" the small soldier asked.

"Yes—something is wrong. Very, very wrong." Before the soldier could ask what, Joker whipped around like a tornado and drove a shard of glass from the terminal into his neck. "I have **incompetent fucking soldiers."** Joker said in a rage as the soldier choked on his own blood.

"Oh my god—" the tall soldier cried out in surprise, as he backed out of the room and started to run down the hall. Reaching for the now dead soldier's pistol, Joker gunned him down before he made it very far. Tossing the weapon carelessly down onto the body lying at his feet, Joker wiped the blood off his face and smeared it on the wall nearest him.

"Always gotta do everything my fucking self." He grumbled as he adjusted his belt and walked down the hall with one objective in mind, find the two little shits that caused this mess and make them pay.

 _ **A/N:**_ _And that's a wrap for the new and (hopefully) improved Chapter One! I know it has been awhile, but with school and work I just didn't have a lot of time to write. This rewrite also proved to be MUCH harder than I thought. Originally, I was going to keep going, but I decided to cut the new chapter short as it was getting to be extremely long. As you may have noticed, the ending to this chapter is much different from the original and for good reason—the original first chapter didn't really line up with the rest of the story and I felt that it was quite forgettable. So, with that being said let me clarify a couple of things:_

 _First and foremost, no—I will not be rewriting every chapter in this story. I will be making slight changes to the other chapters of the story that will go along with what I have re-done here._

 _This chapter will either be followed by an entirely brand new chapter, known as Chapter 1.5, or if the chapter comes out too short will be featured as the 'new beginning' of Chapter 2 that will wrap up the events of the escape of Vault 406._

 _Other than that Wastelanders, I don't have much else to say. Again, I apologize for the long wait but with life kicking my ass it couldn't really be helped. The good news is that Chapter 11 is about halfway done and I've already began work on Chapter 1.5/Chapter 2 of the story so I will do my best to get at least one of those out for you guys before the week ends. Yeah so uh—that's it! As always, if any of you have any comments, questions, concerns, and/or suggestions please leave a review or shoot me a PM! Until next time guys, Frosty out!_


	2. Chapter 2: Alyson and The First Quest

Disclaimer: I do not own **_Sword Art Online or Fallout or any of its characters… but I do own this story and its original characters!_**

"Speech"

 _"_ _Thoughts"_

Chapter 2: Alyson and the First Quest

For reasons she couldn't understand, Alyson tossed and turned constantly on the rainy night of November 2. It was like her body knew that something had gone amiss and was telling her to wake up before it was too late. Too bad Alyson was just as stubborn and after much effort she finally drifted off to sleep. Normally she had vivid and wild dreams of her craziest fantasies, but on this night the only thing she could recall was everything being pitch black. Taking that little fact into consideration she could not explain why she'd woken up screaming his name. She turned around underneath the showerhead that was currently blasting warm water on her skin providing her with the best environment to ponder the events that took place earlier in the morning.

 _"_ _GRAY!" she exclaimed as she awoke from her slumber, panting heavily and covered in sweat. "That's weird, why did I scream his name?" she thought as she examined her room. Everything was exactly the way she'd left it, clean and orderly. She hesitantly looked over toward her alarm clock sitting on her dresser praying that it wasn't that time of the morning. "Please don't be 7, please don't be 7, please don't be—DAMN!"_ _The clock read 7:05 which meant she wouldn't be able to catch up on all that sleep she missed and also that she had two hours before she had to get to school. She groaned inwardly as she kicked her purple sheets off of her body instantly exposing herself to Boston's freezing temperatures. "It's too cold for this!" she complained as she stepped into her slippers and stumbled into her bathroom. She flicked on the light and had to shield her eyes from the sudden burst of brightness. Still only half awake, she groggily turned on her shower before heading back to her room to grab her outfit for the day. She unceremoniously undressed and tossed everything haphazardly on the bathroom sink. "I hate Mondays." She thought as she came into contact with the scalding water of the shower. "HOT! HOT!"_

She chuckled to herself at the end of her flashback. Her mind drifted back to a certain black-haired boy. _"_ _Gray…"_ she thought. The brown-eyed teen couldn't help but feel like something just wasn't right and at the root of it all was her best friend. Whatever the case she swatted the feeling aside and reached the conclusion that it was all in her head. After looking over her raisin-skinned fingers she realized she'd spent a little too long in the shower. She turned the nob off and stepped out into the steamy bathroom. Knowing full well that she had only so much time to bask in the warmth of the steam before the Boston chill took over, she wasted no time in drying herself off with her towel. Unfortunately for Alyson, the Boston air seemed to be moving faster than she would have liked, as she felt the icy clutches of the morning air beginning to grab at her exposed skin. She shivered instinctively, taking that as a sign to hurry up into her clothes before the heat of the room all but abandoned her. Being that it was that time of year again, Alyson chose to go with a thick navy blue pullover hoodie that Gray had gotten for her last Christmas and a pair of white jeans that she'd gone out and bought not too long ago. She laughed to herself as the foggy mirror cleared and she read over the lines on the hoodie, "Monday why you not Friday?" Gray had hit the nail right on the head when he bought her this. She did a little dance in front of the mirror as she carefully critiqued how she looked. Her skin was of a nice olive color and she stood only five feet and four inches. She had shoulder length black hair and bangs that she swept over her right eye. The tips of her bangs were accented a deep blue, making her large brown eyes pop. If looks could kill, then everyone would drop dead at the sight of Alyson Gable. She jumped up unto her bed and slid her feet into her favorite fuzzy socks before putting on her black winter booties. In the midst of putting on her right boot she felt the bed vibrate and searched beneath the covers for her phone. She found it when she accidently flung it onto the floor when she raised one of the two blankets that she slept with a little too quickly. She was relieved when she saw it hadn't cracked from the tumble off her bed. She slid her finger along the pattern she developed to lock her phone and saw that her boyfriend Brian had just texted her.

 _"_ _Comin by to pick u up soon. Be ready. Got sumthin important to tell u."_ She shook her head. Brian knew that she always walked to school with Gray, after all they only lived a block away. She started typing away furiously, hoping that her reply would get to him before he left home.

 _"_ _No thanks. It's not really that far of a walk—"_ before she could finish her text however, Brian had sent another message. She stopped typing and opened up the new message was surprised at its content.

 _"_ _I know u already. Ur going to walk with that Gray kid instead of comin with ur boyfriend. Well not 2day. Like I said I have sumthin important to tell u and Im not takin no for an answer. Im already leavin my house. Be ready when I get there."_ She sighed after reading the second message. Aly never could understand what Brian's problem with Gray was, as a matter of fact she couldn't tell why anyone would ever have a problem with him. It's not like he was a bad guy, sure he could be a little weird at times but it isn't like he's any weirder than any of Brian's friends. Since she wasn't really in an arguing mood she decided to just go along with her boyfriend's wishes. She ran downstairs to find her mother and father watching the news, albeit they were paying more attention to their phones than they were what was going on their 62-inch TV. From what she could hear, they were covering the launch of a new video-game but that was all she picked up. She was in way too much of a rush to pay attention to what was going on, although she knew that if Gray were awake right now he'd be all over the news. The thought caused her to chuckle, which was loud enough to alert her parents of her presence.

"Morning honey! I left a breakfast burrito there in the microwave in there for you if you're hungry." Her mom called from the sofa. Aly looked in the designated area for her breakfast and smiled in delight when she spotted the small and compact tortilla wrapped goodness.

"Thanks mom! I'm gonna head out a little early today. Gotta let Gray know that I'm heading to school with Brian. Love you guys! See you later!" She said in between bites of her mom's wonderful homemade burrito. She grabbed her backpack that was resting on a hangar right at the front of the door and made to leave.

"Alright then honey! Be safe and tell Gray that we said hello!" Her mom called after her.

"Kay!" She answered as she closed the front door behind her. The cool breeze of suburban Boston embraced her the moment she set foot outside and thankfully for her, she was dressed for the occasion. She crossed the street and headed towards the house directly across from hers, the large two-story home of her best friend; Gray Celthric. Sometimes she really envied him, living all alone in a house without parents. He pretty much could do whatever it was that he wanted and no one could boss him around. Then she remembered the downside to his situation, where he was always alone in a large and empty house. He had a dog once but he'd passed away around two years ago. Since then, Gray has lived completely on his own. The thought brought a small tear to Alyson's eye, but she knew her friend and he was one of the strongest people she'd ever known. Once she reached his front door she rang the door bell a gazillion times, which was her special way of messing with him. By now she knew that he was used to it, but still whenever he came to answer the door he was always grumpy. "Do you really have to ring it that many times?" he'd say and she'd reply with her usual sly "Yes" that she'd combine with batted eyelashes to enhance its effect. Usually he'd huff at her then welcome her inside or lock up and walk to school with her. Today was a different story however, as this time no one came to answer the door. _"_ _That's funny. He always answers the door. Ah! He's just being extra stubborn today!"_ She thought as she assaulted the doorbell with her finger.

 _Ding!_

 _Ding!_

 _Ding!_

 _Ding!_

Still no answer.

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

Just like before, no one came to the door. She tried the handle and found that it was locked. _"_ _Did he go to school without me or something?"_ She was about to retrieve the spare key and check to see if everything was okay when she heard her boyfriend's car pull up.

"Alyson! What are you doing? Come on let's go!" Brian called from his blacked out 2015 Dodge Challenger. Sure the car wasn't as sleek as some of the newer models of cars out in the world today, but it was one badass ride. At least Brian thought so, Alyson wasn't really into materialistic things so the car really didn't do anything for her. He honked the horn to get her attention when he noticed that she was moving one of the pots on Gray's porch. "Alyson!" he yelled.

"Will you hold on!? I need to check something real quick!" She replied in irritation. _"_ _What the hell is his rush anyway?"_ she thought to herself. She was about to insert the key into the lock when Brian obnoxiously honked his horn again. She lost her concentration and dropped the key where it landed with a loud 'cling' on the wood porch. "I said wait!" She said in irritation. If there was one thing that Alyson didn't like, it was being rushed.

"I told you Alyson! This is important, whatever you are doing at this loser's house can wait until later! Get in the car! We need to go!" He shouted over the roar of his engine. Alyson sighed and knew that arguing at this point would just make things worse, so she bent down to pick up the key and pocketed it before jogging over to Brian's car. Before she reached his car however, she couldn't help looking back at her best friend's home. She threw her bag inside the window and plopped herself down making sure that Brian knew that she was annoyed. If he noticed her attitude, he didn't show it as he drove down the block. Just like earlier that morning, Alyson could feel that something wasn't right and with Gray not answering the door only worsened her suspicions.

 _"_ _Please just be at school."_ She prayed to herself. Aly wouldn't get to ponder long on her friend however, as Brian began to relay his important news to her.

"So babe, guess what?" He said excitedly.

"What?" she responded, clearly not interested. Brian didn't seem to notice and if he did then he must've not have cared because he continued anyway.

"So this next game tomorrow against Highland High School, I've got a couple of scouts from USC and Florida State coming to check me out! Isn't that awesome!?"

"Yeah, that's great Brian." She replied absentmindedly. Truth be told, she was barely listening to her boyfriend. Her thoughts were revolving around someone else entirely. However, his next sentence caught her attention.

"So I wanted you to be there, you know, at my game. Cheering me on and with that sexy body of yours…" He said as he slid one of his hands along her leg. Instinctively, Alyson moved her leg away from his touch and shifted closer to the window.

"Eww don't do that again—and I can't go. Tomorrow is Gray's birthday and I already made—"

"See! There you go again talking about Gray again! That's all you ever do. Gray this and Gray that! What about me, huh? I'm your boyfriend here not him! Don't you understand how important this is to me? Why do you even hang out with that loser anyways? Everyone at school thinks he's weird and he has like no friends, any cool ones anyway. Even Cheryl doesn't like him and Cheryl gets along with everyone! You're way out of his league. Is that why you hang out with him? Because you feel sorry for him?"

"NO! I hang out with him because he is my BEST FRIEND and you know what Brian? I don't give a rat's ass about what your ex Cheryl has to say about anybody, considering she's like the biggest two-faced bitch in the school! Maybe if you and your friends actually gave Gray a shot then you'd see that he's actually pretty cool once you get to know him." Alyson snapped.

"Wow. Are you listening to yourself right now? Give that reject a chance? As if. You seriously need to stop hanging out with him. He's turning you into someone you're not." Brian replied.

"Someone I'm—do you have any idea what you're saying!? I'm the same person I was when we first met and I knew Gray then! How the hell does he change anything? Is it because I can't go to your stupid game? Is that why you're being such an idiot right now!?" She shot back. Without warning, Brian stopped the car so abruptly that Alyson lurched forward and collided with the dash. Luckily she didn't get a concussion or worse, but she was infuriated now. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" She turned to him, eyes filled with rage.

"What's wrong with me? I have a girlfriend who doesn't know how good she has it right now. There are girls lining up right now to be in the position that you are in. I'm the best looking guy in the school, colleges want me and I'm so good that I'm bound to go pro one day. You're sitting in a $75,000 car for fuck's sake. I'm fucking rich! By being with me, I literally make you the envy of the school. Face it, you aren't shit without me and you are willing to throw this—" he paused to gesture at himself, "this all away because of some low-life geeky fuckboy that everyone in the school could pretty much agree could drop dead and no one would give a fuck." Brian smirked thinking that he'd changed Alyson's mind when he heard her laugh. "I knew you'd come around." He said confidently.

"You know Brian, you are absolutely right. I do have it good." She said earning a toothy smile from the most popular guy at Riverwood High.

"Told you so. Now give your man a kiss." He said as he puckered up.

"Thank God I have it so good, that I'm able to do this!" She chimed as she slapped the living daylights out of her now ex-boyfriend. "Fuck you Brian." Those words were the icing on her cake as she grabbed her bag and exited the vehicle.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" She heard him scream from behind the wheel of his car. She smirked to herself, knowing she'd got him good. She was more than positive that she drew blood with that slap of hers. Brian wasn't about to be made the fool, the most popular guy in the school just doesn't get dumped without having the last laugh after all. He flung his door open and stepped out of his Challenger ready to even the score with the girl he deemed had 'everything she could ever want by being with him.' If Brian was going for a surprise attack he failed miserably as Alyson could hear him coming from a mile away giving her more than enough time to get out of the way of his lumbering form.

"Hitting girls now? What did I ever see in you? You are so damn pathetic." She said coolly. Now as bold as she was being at the moment, Aly knew well enough that in a straight out brawl she didn't stand a chance against her former boyfriend. Compared to her, he was a behemoth. That's what happens when you spend most of your days in a gym and popping pills with your friends. He was also much faster than she was considering he ran a forty in 4 seconds flat. She'd really got herself into a bind this time.

"Shut your fucking mouth." He barked. Brian bent down low before surging forward towards Alyson. The girl in question tried to get out of the way but was unable, as Brian was too quick. He seized her by the throat and pinned her down on the trunk of his car. "Yeah… this is more like it. See I was going to be the nice guy here and forgive you for all the shit you said in the car, but after what you did—ooohh!" He said as his free hand trailed up her thighs and beneath her hoodie where he felt her smooth skin. Alyson cringed under his touch and tried desperately to wrestle herself free. "You useless bitch. DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING GOOD YOU HAD IT!?" He spat in her face. He continued sliding his hand about her stomach, satisfied at how uncomfortable he was making her. She'd always been a tease with him, never willing to 'give it up' and now she had no choice in the matter. A perverse smile crept across his lips as his hand reached her bra. He'd always wanted to play with her decent sized mounds and now he could. It's not like anything was going to stop him. Or so he thought. Having have had more than enough Alyson brought her knee right up to Brian's exposed crotch. It didn't matter how strong he was, a knee to the balls was more than enough for her to escape his grasp. She wasn't done however, after all he'd just violated her and that wasn't something she was about to let pass with just a shot to the groin. Alyson grabbed Brian by the head and smashed it down with enough force to dent the trunk of his beloved Challenger. She would've done more but Brian was starting to get to his feet and she didn't want to take any chances. Alyson booked it back towards her house, not daring to look back for fear that she'd see her crazy ex-boyfriend chasing after her. She ran like she'd never ran before, reaching speeds that she didn't even know that she was capable of. The panicked teen stumbled up the steps to her home and could've sworn she could hear the guzzling of an engine approaching as she fumbled with her keys. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, she twisted the lock and barged into her house. "Mom! Dad!" she called as she rounded the corner, however she forgot everything she was going to say after she stumbled into the living room. There, on their living room TV was the same report that she'd heard earlier this morning, only this time she understood exactly what was going on. Her parents turned to face her, both carrying a somber expression on their faces as the newscaster continued with her report.

"Alyson, if this is about Gray then—" her dad began. The teenager didn't care to listen to the rest of what her father had to say, as she immediately turned back around and headed out the door. "Alyson! Wait!"

 _"_ _No! This can't be happening! It isn't true! There's no way!"_ She thought as she raced across her lawn.

 _"_ _That's correct Bill. As of right now, there are already 562 confirmed deaths in the case of the Fallout: Online incident. Bethesda is doing everything they can to take their servers back from the terrorist organization—"_

The report played in her head over and over. Whatever she was feeling before watching the report was instantly cast aside, the situation with Brian didn't even cross her mind. All that mattered was that she reach her best friend's house where she'd open the door to prove that newscaster wrong. Gray was going to be sitting on the couch, watching cartoons like he always was and she was going to have to convince him that ditching school wasn't the best idea. She ran up the porch to the Celthric residence and fished the key out of her pocket to undo the lock that separated her from the unfortunate truth.

"Alyson!" she heard someone call her name. She couldn't discern who was calling her, for she was too focused on the status of Gray Celthric. The lock 'clicked' just as the footsteps began closing in on her right in time for her to burst into the large open living room. She immediately looked to her right and when she saw that Gray wasn't there she bolted up the steps, much to her pursuer's annoyance.

 _"_ _562 confirmed deaths."_

 _"_ _562 people dead."_

 _"_ _562."_

The reporter's words echoed throughout her head as she leapt from step to step. It couldn't be true, she was hoping it wasn't so. At the top of the seemingly endless stairs, Alyson checked to see if maybe he was in the bathroom and when he wasn't she set her sights on the only place he could be: his room. A part of her was praying that she didn't find him there, because she knew that if she did, her worst fears would have come true. Whatever the case, she steeled her nerves and told herself that everything was going to be just fine. Unfortunately, it wasn't. She charged into the room expecting to find it devoid of any sign of her best friend, but to her horror she was greeted to the sight of a motionless Gray.

"GRAY!" She yelled as she ran over to the edge of his bed. Alyson grabbed hold of the VirtualGear helmet and was just about to pry it off his head when she felt two strong arms wrap around her and pull her away.

"Alyson no! You'll kill him!" Her dad said as he struggled to contain his crazed daughter.

"We can't just leave him like that! DAD! He needs our help! GRAY!" She kicked and squirmed, but to no avail. Her father's iron grip was just too much for her.

"Alyson! Calm down! Listen to me, if we take the helmet off it'll fry his brain."

"But dad! Look at him! He needs our help! What if he needs to eat or use the bathroom or something!? He can't stay in the game forever… he can't…. Gray…" she started crying.

"It'll be okay Alyson, don't worry. Your mother and I will call the hospital and see if we can move him there. They'll take care of his needs as long as he's in the game. I know that you're worried about him, but you've got to trust Gray. Just calm down." Her father said softly.

Calm down? How could she? She just broke up with her boyfriend who subsequently just tried to violate her and now her best friend was trapped inside of a giant death game. How could she possibly be calm at a time like this? From her position against her dad's chest, Aly could faintly see Gray's calendar. Her eyes glazed over the date. Monday November 3rd, 2023, the day that Alyson's world was turned upside down.

 ** _Fallout: Online…Three Days Later_**

Whoever said that every great journey begins with a single step, surely left out a heap of information, because if Gray's trek in the Grand Wasteland was supposed to be great, he wasn't feeling it. In the three days that Gray wandered the barren radioactive wasteland he figured out two things. One, he _definitely_ wasn't in Boston and two, it was ridiculously HOT outside. The locations he had stumbled upon were all completely abandoned, but luckily for the Lone Savior they held plenty of items that he could use. He was able to gather enough food and Nuka-Cola bottles to last him a good while in the wasteland and he was even wearing a new outfit that he'd pieced together from his visits to the ghost towns. His new apparel began with a pair of black pants that he'd found in a villa that he'd stumbled across shortly after his escape from Vault 406. Then he'd found a brown scarf reached down to his about his armpits along with a navy blue long sleeve hiding in a chest in another town directly south from the villa. He was extremely happy when he stumbled upon those two pieces of clothing, for the scarf allowed him to cover his face when the radioactive dust storms kicked up and the long sleeve protected his arms from the whipping winds that plagued the wasteland. The final pieces of his outfit came from a much larger town that was north of the last place he plundered. In the middle of this large town was a small convenience store that was filled with everything he could possibly hope for. Gray even found a novelty eyepatch that he used to cover up the wound in his eye and it was also where he would discover his signature black fingerless gloves. He finished off his look with a simple black cap that he'd plucked from the hats section of the store and saved the outfit as 'wanderer' before setting off in search of civilization.

In the three locations he visited he didn't find a single trace of life, aside from when he was in the villa where he spotted a couple of radroaches. The thought of the giant creepy crawlies made his skin crawl, especially when he remembered the crunchy noise that they made when he smashed them with his bat. _"_ _I'm starting to think that I may be the only person in the world who actually escaped their vault._ " He thought. His mind began to drift as he sat alone in his little base of operations, a small house that he'd found at the base of a cliff in the heart of the desert wasteland. _"_ _This kind of heat just makes me feel like I somehow ended up in the Mojave Wasteland."_ He lifted the Nuka-Cola to his lips and gulped down a decent amount of the carbonated beverage. Gray winced as he felt his throat burn from the radiation spiked drink. Considering that there wasn't really anything else for him to drink and that the water that he'd recovered burned even more than the famed soda, he learned to deal with it. The black-haired teen brought up his Pip-Boy and checked over his status. "Hmm, my radiation levels are starting to get a little high, I should cut back on the Nuka-Cola." He switched over to another screen that displayed his vitals and limb condition. "Everything here looks good." He said to himself as his eyes lingered over a small wound on his virtual vault boy. The little dot marked where Joker had shot his leg and then there was the jagged symbol that appeared over his left eye. He hadn't had the chance of seeing the damage done to his eye, nor did he want to. He was aware of the wound in his leg though, as it had opened on its own several times in his exploring. It eventually got to the point where he just took a piece of white cloth that he'd found and made a tourniquet for himself in order to stop the bleeding. After that it wasn't much of a problem anymore.

Gray rose to his full height and looked out of the lone window of the little home he'd found. Luckily, he'd also found a pair of binoculars in the convenience store so he was able to scout out for new locations. It didn't take very long to find another town as he had a great vantage point. The new location was set to his west and according to the marker he'd set it was also a good three miles out. "Well, hope that 4th time is the charm!" He said as he grabbed his trusty bat and departed in his search to find survivors.

 ** _Location: Cydonia_**

Gray's trip to the settlement was an uneventful one and that fact just made him feel that he was just walking into another ghost town. The first thing he saw as he entered the location was a small sign that read, "Welcome to Cydonia! The place where—" The rest of the sign had faded so much that it'd be impossible to decipher the missing words. Gray just shrugged his shoulders and readied his bat in case that anything was lurking in the shadows. He really wished that he'd had a gun, even the BB gun from Fallout 3 would suffice but as his luck would have it, he just couldn't find one. He didn't mind his bat but it wasn't the best weapon for when a group of enemies were around, especially ghouls. He'd be better off running than he would be in a prolonged fight.

The black-haired teen navigated the open streets with great caution, taking care to hug the walls of buildings, for fear of being spotted by something or someone he could not see. Suddenly, he heard a rock land right next to him, and instinctively he looked up. He barely managed to get out of the way in time of the large debris that had fallen from one of the nearby buildings. _"_ _Damn. That was too close!"_ He thought as he investigated the ruins of Cydonia. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself from his near death experience, Gray decided to investigate a large office building in the center of the street he was on. He couldn't explain it, but he had a feeling that _someone_ was in there and he knew to trust his gut. Although in this instance, he almost wished he hadn't because the moment he entered the building he was greeted to laser fire. "Hey, woah! Woah!" Gray said from behind a column he'd dove behind in the nick of time. "I come in peace! Christ!"

"Who goes there!?" barked a rough sounding voice.

"Just another survivor! Is this how you greet all your guests?" Gray said as he dusted himself off. He stepped back into the center of the doorway and was instantly put under the mark of over a dozen rifles. "My name is Gray Celthric and I came from Vault 406." He informed.

"Gray Celthric eh? What business do you have in Cydonia?" The voice sounded.

"What business do I have? Look man, I just came here looking for survivors—"

"Why are you looking for them!?" The man roared from his position atop a railing. Gray couldn't make out any facial features however, as a giant floodlight was behind him and his followers. The only thing he could do was shield his eye from the bright light.

"What? So that I can group up with them or something dude! Look can I come in now? I am not too fond standing here completely exposed." Gray took a cautionary step forward, but leapt back as soon as he heard the sound of a laser rifle firing. "Geez! What the hell!"

"I'm sorry outsider, but I just can't let you in here just yet."

"What!? Why the hell not?" Gray snapped. He'd spent three days in search of another living soul and now that he'd finally found one, they were holding him at gunpoint. Some luck he had.

"We don't know if we can trust you just yet." The man replied simply.

"Trust me? Of course you can trust me! I don't even have any weapons on me! I'll even share my inventory with you guys." He tried reasoning with the man. Gray figured his persuasion attempt may have worked, as he saw the people on the railing cluster together for a group meeting. _"_ _Gah! What are they saying?"_ He thought in frustration. Gray didn't have to wait long to hear their verdict as they ended their meeting almost as quickly as they had started it. The man approached the railing and spoke powerfully.

"Very well then Gray, it's clear that you are in need of help and we'd gladly take you into Cydonia." He began.

"Sweet! I guess I'll just—" He started moving forward but was stopped again by the distinct _'_ _pew'_ of the laser rifles. "What now!?"

"However, before we let you into our little community there is something that you must do for us first." The man revealed. Gray slapped a hand to his forehead. Why was there always a catch to these things?

"Really!?" Gray yelled in annoyance. This is definitely not what he had in mind when he pictured his first encounter with survivors.

"Do you want entrance into Cydonia or not?" The man shot back, knowing full well that he'd had Gray right where he wanted him. After all, it was a win-win situation for him and his group considering that they have a possibility for someone to solve their problem without wasting their own lives.

"Fine. What is it?" Gray yielded. It's not like he had much of a choice in the matter anyways. Who could say no when there are dozens of guns pointed in your direction?

"Two days ago, another band of survivors came and raided our halls taking with them valuable medical supplies and weapons. Now we don't care much for those weapons anymore as we have found suitable replacements, however, we are in dire need of those medical supplies. If you haven't caught on already, you are to retrieve the medical supplies that they stole from us. If your inventory isn't full, you should have more than enough room to bring all of those supplies back to us. Once you complete this task we'll let you into Cydonia." The man explained.

Gray sighed and agreed to terms. "Can you at least let me know where they went or something?" he asked, not wanting to go off in some wild goose chase. For all he knew, they could just be lying to him so that they could deny him entry.

"Ah, yes I almost forgot. Our scouts tracked them back to a rundown factory not too far from here. I'm sending the coordinates to your Pip-Boy now." True to the man's words, a small beep notified Gray that he'd received the coordinates to his first quest in Fallout: Online. The irony being that it was assigned by another player. Gray opened the little message and saw that he was going to be heading west in his mission to retrieve the stolen medical supplies. He had half a mind to ask them for one of their weapons, but seeing as how they wouldn't let him into Cydonia he doubted they'd do him any favors. With another sigh, the Lone Savior set a waypoint and set off for his destination.

The sun was high in the sky, the best position to release its ultimate heat upon the world and Gray was right in the middle of it, complaining away. "Why is it so DAMN HOT!? UGGGHHHHHH!" He made a left at the next street, dragging his feet toward his destination. "Go get our stuff Gray because we're too incompetent to do it ourselves!" He mocked the man on the railing. "Gah! How come those idiots found guns and medical supplies!? All I found was a stupid bat! ARRRRGGGHH! This is so stupid!" Gray shouted as he threw his bat off into a nearby building where it crashed through a window disappearing into darkness. He slumped down against the wall and squeezed his head in frustration. He didn't ask to be trapped in some stupid death game, he just wanted to play his favorite game of all time. That was it. Was that too much for a guy to ask? Of course it was. It had to be. Why else would he be stuck doing something that he didn't want to?

"Everything okay? You're looking a little beaten there." The friendly sounding voice brought Gray out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"I don't know Brett, from what we saw he seemed a little angry. I think it is just best we leave him alone." Came another voice. Gray could tell that it was a girl speaking without even having to look up.

"Hold on Thalia. Let's see what he has to say first and we'll go forward from there. Can't just leave a guy in the wasteland all alone now can we?" Brett reasoned.

"Well….no." Thalia answered.

"So, buddy you okay or should me and my girlfriend here get out of your hair?" Brett chimed.

"What does it matter? It's just a stupid game anyways." Gray said with his head still down.

"Just a stupid game? Hmm, funny that you say that." Brett started as he rose to his feet. "I don't know where you've been the last couple of days pal, but this isn't just any old game anymore. Whether you like or not, we are all trapped inside this death game. I don't know why you're so down, but keep up that attitude and you won't last very long in this world pal. Moping will get you nowhere, so if you insist on sitting on your ass waiting to be preyed upon by the ghouls I won't stop you, but let me just tell you something. Game or not, this world is our home now and I'll be damned if I don't make the best of it." When his words failed to get a reaction out of the sunken teen, Brett decided he was a lost cause. "I guess I'll see you around then pal, don't let the Deathclaws getcha!" It may have not been the best speech Gray had ever heard, but Brett's words made him realize something, something very important. The image of the girl, Kiara, who'd died by the hands of Joker flashed in his mind reminding him of the horrors he had endured in his vault. She didn't have a choice in her fate, her cruel and twisted fate. Gray did, and he was spending it whining about how things weren't going his way.

 _"_ _How could I be so selfish? Thousands of lives have been lost already and I'm sitting here crying about retrieving some stupid medical supplies. I'm such a damned idiot."_ He cursed himself. Finally having recomposed himself, Gray rose to his feet and followed in the direction that Brett and Thalia had went. The least he could do was thank the man for giving him the motivation he needed to take control of his fate. "Brett!" he called, once he'd caught sight of them. Gray's lone brown eye meet two Hazel colored ones, as the tall platinum blonde haired teen turned to face him.

"Yo! Hey you got up! What can I do for you friend?" He said as made his way over to Gray with Thalia in tow. Thalia was about Alyson's height, with short black hair and red accents and her skin was about as tan as Gray's was. She also had vibrant green eyes that just snatched your attention. She was one beautiful girl.

"I just wanted to thank you, for what you said. It really helped me… figure some things out." Gray said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. It was a little awkward for him to praise someone he didn't even know, but he did owe it to the guy.

"Hey man, no problem! Glad I could be of help." He replied with a smile.

"Yeah, well I've got to go and get some medical supplies. Guess I'll see you guys around then!" Gray turned to leave, but stopped when Brett started speaking again.

"Don't tell me those supplies are the ones that man from Cydonia wants you to get for him in order to get entry into the community." He said. Gray was stunned to say the least. He must've overheard him in his rage, how else would he know about his mission?

"How'd you know?" Gray asked incredulously.

"Cause' he sent me and Thalia here on the same mission when we tried entering yesterday. We've been looking everywhere for the group's base but we've had no luck. We were about to go back to them to ask them if they had any leads, but we ran into you first."

"Oh, well I have their location if you guys still want to tag along. After all there is strength in numbers right?" Gray said.

"Totally man. What do you say Thalia?"

"I don't see a problem with it." She answered.

"Cool, I think we are all set then errr—"

"Gray." The black-haired teen answered, remembering that he hadn't told either of them his name yet.

"Right, Gray—lead the way!" Brett exclaimed.

"Alright then, well I think you'd both be happy to know that it's just not much farther from here." The Lone Savior said as he started off in the direction of their objective. The walk to the thieves' base was silent and as uneventful as Gray's trip into the town of Cydonia. They gathered outside the front gate and looked around for any signs of the enemy. The last thing they wanted to do was waltz into gunfire like they did with the previous survivors. From what they could see though, the factory was completely abandoned. Gray was beginning to doubt the Cydonian man's Intel.

"So, you're absolutely positive that this is where the medical supplies are located?" Brett said from behind Gray.

"Well, it is where the man told me they'd be. I don't see why they wouldn't be here unless the thieves caught wind of us and decided to turn tail and run. I highly doubt that though." Gray said, still looking around for any signs of life.

"Good enough for me then, now put your fucking hands up." Brett ordered as he pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of Gray's head.

"What? Brett wait—you're joking right?" Gray said uneasily.

"Does it sound like I'm fucking joking? Hands up before I blow your motherfuckin' brains out kid." Brett hissed into his ear. Seeing as how he had no other option, Gray did as he was told. "Thalia, tie him up." The green-eyed girl moved into position and began the process of binding Gray's hands behind his back.

"Don't do this Brett. Come on man, what about all that stuff you said about living and stuff?" Gray tried to appeal to his captors' sense of human nature. Sadly, they had none.

"That bullshit? Let me tell you something kid, it is survival of the fittest in this world. Unfortunately for you, I knew this and you didn't. Just the way things work in this wasteland. Don't take it personally." Brett said just as Thalia finished her handiwork. "Now, on your feet."

Gray complied and struggled to get to his feet. Seeing the pathetic display that his prisoner was putting on, Brett yanked the black haired teen to his feet forcefully. In the brief moment that they were in close proximity, Gray took it upon himself to head butt the platinum haired teen. He moved to escape, but he wasn't counting on Thalia running forward to halt his attempt. "Where do you think you're going?" She said.

"You crafty little shit! I'll give you credit for that little stunt, but I'll be damned to let some punk make a fool of me." Brett said as he wiped the blood from his lip. He retrieved his pistol and cowboy hat from the floor before walking up to Gray where he pistol-whipped him: twice. He would have done it a third time, seeing as how Gray was still conscious after the first vicious hit, but when he collapsed to the floor in a heap the second time the butt of the gun came into contact with his forehead, Brett knew his work was done. The psychotic con-man clapped his hands together excitedly for his plans all fell into place perfectly. All that was left was for him to enact the final stage. "Thalia!" he called. "Let's go get us some medical supplies!"

 ** _A/N:_** And that does it for Chapter 2 of Fallout Online! Kept you waiting, huh? Man, writing this story is hard. I have to resist the urge to blow things up in epic displays of badassery. Do you know how hard that is to do? Well, whatever the case I managed to crank this bad boy out and ahead of schedule too! So while I can't blow things up just yet, I am happy to get this story moving along! To the lone review that this story has received since its publication:

 ** _thedark2: Glad you like the story! Thank you for your review, it is much appreciated. Sadly though, I have to say that Jay will not be returning for the remainder of the story. Still, I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the story as it comes along!_**

That's right. A special shout-out. Think. This could be you if you just left a review. Lol. I kid. Well to all you wastelanders out there, I bid you ado, but not before I remind you that if you have ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING you'd like to suggest, a question you'd like to ask, a concern you'd like to make known, or even an idea you're tinkering with feel free to PM me or leave a review. Until next time, Frosty out!


	3. Chapter 3: A Rock and A Hard Place

Disclaimer: I do not own **_Fallout or Sword Art Online or any of its characters. I do claim ownership of this story and its characters however!_**

Chapter 3: A Rock and a Hard Place

Even when consumed in darkness, Gray Celthric was haunted by visions of the unfortunate girl that had died because of his actions in Vault 406. Kiara was her name and the ghastly visage of her bloodstained face served as a constant reminder to the nightmare that Gray was trapped in. He learned very quickly, that even in a video game his choices could have dire consequences on those around him. Soon after that, he learned that the philosophy of the current virtual world he was living in revolved around the theory of natural selection. In other words, kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, or better yet; survival of the fittest. Unconscious from Brett's vicious pistol whips, Gray had no other choice but to relive the traumatic experience he suffered from his time in Vault 406 over and over again. Now, while those memories were certainly a living hell, it should go without saying that the situation going on outside of his subconscious was not that much better then what he was currently going through. Sure, people weren't dying before his very eyes, but when he came to Gray found himself dangling in the air, courtesy of an old rusty hook and some rope tied around his ankles. He was pouring with sweat and his eyes were dilated from the recent memories that he'd just so narrowly escaped from. Throw in the heavy breathing and his panicked motions and you had one very alert vault dweller. _"_ _Where the hell am I?"_ came the predictable first thought of his brain. The second thought was the realization that his clothes were gone, save for the standard white t-shirt and black underwear that he was in when he first started the game. He looked around and crinkled his nose as he caught whiff of a horrid stench in the current room he was in. The black haired-teen saw dried blood stains splattered against the aged walls, a large dumpster filled with water, and figured out that the hook he was hanging from was from a ceiling conveyer belt. _"_ _How do I get down from here?"_ he asked himself, like his brain would suddenly come up with an answer on its own. Gray continued investigating the large warehouse-like room and reached several conclusions. The first of which was that he was hanging fifteen feet off the ground and a fall from that height would not be very pleasant, especially since he'd be falling head first. Next was that the rope holding him up wasn't of the sturdiest build, as it looked like it would snap at any minute. Then, just several feet away was a piece of iron that jutted out from what looked like a nearby shelf that appeared just sharp enough to sever the rope holding him from his hanging prison. All he had to do was swing himself with enough force for the iron to cut through deteriorating fibers that held him up and he was home free. There was still just one problem and that was the fall height. With no knowledge of who or what was lurking around in the vicinity, Gray did not want to risk potential injury to himself from such a fall. Then he remembered the dumpster filled with water and realized that he could land safely in there. All he had to do was get enough swing in to propel him a few feet backward after the rope is cut to make a clean landing into the large dumpster. It wouldn't be too hard to miss and seeing as how whoever was holding him hostage could come in any minute, he decided not to waste any time in freeing himself. With a heave and a ho, Gray swung himself back and forth until he picked up the desired speed he was aiming for. Just like he'd planned, the piece of iron was enough to slice through the fibers of the rope and Gray tumbled through the air before landing with a loud splash in the dumpster. He heard a little mental tick go off in his head, a familiar sound that all veteran Fallout players knew about, the sound of the Geiger counter telling him he was in the presence of radiation. Knowing full well what would happen if he lingered too long he swam up from the bottom of the large dumpster and pulled himself out of the warm water. He crinkled his nose again as the putrid smell assaulted his nostrils for the second time making it extremely hard for him to focus on his descent. Gray climbed down quickly and hid behind a nearby shelf to and waited to see if anyone would come and investigate the amount of noise he made. For several minutes he sat completely still. Gray found no reason to rush things and surprisingly kept himself relatively calm. A part of him wanted to run around like a chicken that had lost its head, but he knew that would hardly help him in his situation. He found a medium-length pipe and decided he could use that for a weapon if he needed to. After all, there was no telling who or what had captured him and he wasn't too fond of the idea of being caught weaponless. He took a moment to gauge over his surroundings once more and found two means of escape. The first was through the two large double doors at the front of the room, but for Gray that just wasn't that appealing of an option. For starters, if he went in the general direction of those doors he'd be standing smack dab in the middle of the room. If anybody came in just as he was leaving, then there would be no time for him to get out of sight. While he could engage them with his trusty pipe, he'd be at a complete disadvantage if they had a gun. The second option was through the conveyor belt opening on the far right side of the room. He was also having doubts about taking that small cramped space, as he may run into a ghoul or the enemy as he wouldn't know where that path would take him. Divided on what to do, his mind took the perfect opportunity to argue within itself and Gray was the unfortunate individual that was caught between the two sides.

"Go this way! Being that it is the most obvious way to get out it'd be genius! The enemy would never think that I left right through the front door! Besides, what if that's the way out anyways? This room can just be part of one big building and those double doors are the way back to the wasteland!" One portion of his brain argued. Then came the rebuttal:

"That's completely stupid! For all you know there could be guards right on the other side of the door. The opening through the conveyor belts is a more strategic choice. Being that it's such a cramped quarters it'd be impossible for the enemy to chase me down quickly. I'd have a larger window of escape and there is no possible way that anyone would be waiting for me on the other side!"

"What about the possibility of ghouls? Getting trapped in there would not be pretty as it is such a tight space. At least through the front doors there is more open space and maneuverability." One side reasoned.

"True, but that means I could be spotted much easier." The other argued.

"What's the plan then?" the two arguing sides of his brain seemed to say at the same time. Gray didn't have the answer that would solve the dispute that was going on within the recesses of his mind. Instead he sat there and went over all the possible scenarios in his head. Some might say that he was procrastinating, others strategizing, but in reality he didn't know what was going on. Ironic that his favorite game in the world has brought him so much misfortune. His mind and heart were racing as his thoughts began to wander to a familiar place, one that Gray didn't know if he was ever going to see again.

 _Flashback…_

He was at home and it was raining. The sweet melodious rhythm of pitter patter of the rain on his rooftop was strangely relaxing. Lightning quickly illuminated the dull grey clouds in its brilliant blue radiance for just a split-second before fizzing out of existence in an instant. The roar of thunder was enough to rattle his windows and shelves, so much so that Alyson let out a small 'eep' from her snuggled up form on the couch.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little thunder?" Gray teased his longtime friend as he offered her the small ceramic cup in his left hand. The warm container felt good in her small and cold hands as she watched the steam of the brown liquid inside disappear into the cold air of Gray's living room.

"N-no! Of course not. I was just caught off guard is all." She protested.

"Uh-huh. Sixteen years old and still scared of a little old thunderstorm. Geez, Alyson." He said with a chuckle before taking a sip of his own heated beverage.

"Oh whatever. I wasn't even scared. It's just so loud—and you know I don't have to explain myself to you! Besides it's my birthday, you are supposed to be nice to me." She said with a pout. Gray couldn't help but notice how cute she looked with her red nose and rosy cheeks all wrapped up in her blanket. He had to fight back against the small blush that was beginning to form at the center of his cheeks.

"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." He answered. The black haired teen grabbed the remote from its position on the coffee table and started flipping through the channels. "So, birthday girl what do you want to watch?" he asked hesitantly. Deep down, he already knew what she wanted to watch but he was praying that for once she'd want to watch something other then—

"Lifetime!" She cheered happily. Gray threw his head back and groaned out loud much to Alyson's amusement. He raised the remote and reluctantly flipped through the channels until he arrived at the birthday girl's desired program. "Wonder what they are showing this time? Hey, Gray hit info would you?" she asked. Finding no reason not to comply, Gray pulled up the info screen for _Kidnapping on the Bluff._ Alyson read the little summary aloud in her head and turned to her friend whom had the most uninterested look on his face. She let out a small laugh, wrenching the boy's attention from the TV screen.

"What's so funny?" He asked casually.

"Nothing!" Alyson responded quickly. She knew that Gray didn't like the Lifetime channel. Something about them over-dramatizing situations. Before today he would never let her watch the channel at his house, but now that she could, she was enjoying his reaction. It was very rare that she ever teased him effectively. She wasn't very good at telling jokes and when she tried she would usually forget the punch-line. Gray was usually the only person who'd laugh at her poorly constructed jokes, then he'd make her pay for it with a punch-line of his own. She hated and loved him for it. Hated it because she could never get back at him, but loved it because it made her laugh. He really was the bestest friend a girl could have. "Hey, Gray?"

"Yeah?" he responded.

"What would you do if someone kidnapped me?" she asked in hopes that he'd become more interested in the program. Instead he made her regret ever asking that question. Almost immediately after she delivered the question he snickered.

"Nothing." He said much to her surprise. "They'd give you back in less than a week." He finished with a chuckle.

"Gray! That's so mean!" She said as she slapped his arm playfully. It wasn't long before she joined in the laughter as well. She did set herself up for that one. Hell as long as she's known Gray she should've expected that.

"But seriously." He said after the laughter started to die out. He cleared his throat and continued, "I really don't know what I'd do honestly. I mean I'd do everything I possibly could to find you of course. Call the police, put up flyers, and perhaps turn into a detective myself in the process. Have no doubt however, that if you didn't break out first, I'd find ya."

"That is why you are the best Gray! Say, why do you think I'd break out?"

"Because Aly, you're batshit crazy." He said with a smile. She tilted her head in confusion. Alyson didn't know whether that was a compliment or an insult. "In a good way of course." He added when he noticed the look on her face.

"Oh. Haha! Well if anyone were holding you hostage, know that I'd do whatever it took to get you back too!" She chimed as she turned her attention back to the scheduled program.

"Well, Alyson the chances of that happening are highly unlikely." He replied.

 _End of Flashback…_

 _"_ _Boy, did those words come back to bite me in the ass."_ Gray thought as he returned to his current disposition. _"_ _But if Alyson really meant what she said, then maybe… I'll make it out of this nightmare. I can't do that if I'm dead though, so I need to make a decision. Double doors or through the conveyer belt?"_ He took one last glance of the room and decided that the conveyer belt was probably the best option. After all, if things didn't go well he could always turn back. He wasted no time in crossing the large room to reach his means of escape. Before he could hop into the little vent however, the double doors at the front of the room burst open, prompting Gray to hide behind a couple of nearby barrels. One of the barrels had a small circular hole running through to the other side, giving the black haired teen a covert way of observing his captors.

"Get your ass in there!" The bulkier of the two raider-looking guards said as they tossed a slim-looking figure into the room. There was a sack over the person's head but Gray knew that the new prisoner was a girl based on the body. Like him, the raiders seemed to strip her down to nothing but the standard white tank top and black underwear. "That's right bitch. Welcome to your new—SHIT!" The same bulky raider said as he donned his rusty pipe pistol.

"What!? What?" The slimmer raider said as he looked around frantically. "Is there a Deathclaw? Yao Guai? Radroach!?" He said worriedly.

"No idiot! Look up! The damn prisoner is gone!" The fatter raider said.

 _"_ _Well shit. So much for slipping away unnoticed. They're sure to be on high alert now."_ Gray thought from his position behind the barrels.

"Hey where do you think you're going bitch!?" The slim raider yelled as he grabbed hold of the girl trying to crawl away. With her hands bound behind her back she could do nothing but give in the moment they grabbed hold of her. Gray could make out whimpering noises coming from the struggling prisoner and couldn't help but feel bad.

"Rat!" The fatter raider spoke up.

"What!? Ughh—why do you have to call me that? My name's Randy and you know that Greg!" Randy whined.

"Shut-up I'll call you whatever I want. Look, I need you to report back to Krazy Kent and tell him that the prisoner escaped."

"Why do I have to do it?" Randy whined.

"Because you're faster than I am and I said so. Besides I'm better equipped to make sure that this bitch doesn't try anything funny. If I let you stay and watch her she'd probably escape like the other one and then Kent will kill us both. So quit your damn whining and do it already!" Greg yelled.

"Fine I'll do it." Randy resigned and departed the room, leaving only Greg, Gray, and the captive. The former walked over to the double doors and shut them. Then he barred the door shut with an iron pipe, which Gray found to be completely pointless. They were already trapped inside. Should she somehow manage to escape, all she had to do was unbar the door. Unless…

"Now no one can bother us while we have our fun." Greg said whilst rubbing his hands together in anticipation. A creeper like smile was plastered on his face as he closed the distance between himself and the whimpering girl. "Oh come on baby don't be like the others. Don't run from me. It never ends well." He laughed creepily right when he grabbed her by the ankles. She kicked about wildly, but to no avail. His grip was just too strong. "Feisty aren't you? Mmmm I like them feisty! Here, let's get rid of this bag. Take a look at that face of yours." Greg ripped the bag off her head violently, pulling a few strands of the girl's short shoulder length hair with it. She yelped in pain and tried to escape but was stopped when Greg twisted his hand into her hair. Gray couldn't make out much from his little viewing hole from behind the barrels, but based on the body type and hairstyle he had a pretty good feeling as to who the prisoner was.

 _"_ _Thalia."_ The image of Brett's beautiful girlfriend popped into his mind and Gray was met with a mix of emotions. A part of him felt like she was getting what she deserved for what she and Brett did to him. Then again, he wouldn't wish this kind of punishment on any of his enemies. He was torn about what he should do. Help her and risk getting the both of them killed or escape in the midst of the situation. After all, with Greg preoccupied with her there would be no way he'd see him slip into the vent. _"_ _Yep! That's what I'm going to do. Survival of the fittest after all right?"_ He repeated Brett's sentiment over and over in his head in an effort to convince himself that leaving Thalia behind was the right thing to do. Finally having made up his mind, Gray snuck over to the vent. He cautiously lifted the handle that separated him from his only means of escape and disappeared into the darkness, but unfortunately for him the door slammed shut catching the attention of the sex-crazed Greg.

"Huh? Who's there? That you Rat?" He called out in the direction of the vent. "Hold on babe, we'll finish playing in a little bit. But first, I got to make sure you don't go anywhere!" Lifting Thalia by her waist, he hung her on one of the low hanging hooks by the ropes around her wrists. Satisfied that she couldn't go anywhere, Greg dawned his pipe pistol and uttered, "Daddy's gotta go check on something. I'll be right back." He winked at his scared and helpless victim and snickered evilly. "I know you're back there you rotten son of a bitch! Tell you what, come out and I'll forgive ya! Come on! We Raiders can play real nice. Just come on out of hiding. I promise I won't hurtcha." Greg cooed. He approached the small little conveyor belt and did a quick check of the area. He wasn't fond of surprises and he was not about to let anyone get the jump on him especially if it was annoying partner, Rat. He pulled a flashlight from his inventory and readied his pistol. He mentally counted to three in his head and then viciously lifted the covering. The light shone through completely to the other end. "Hmph. Must've been imagining things then." He did one last sweep over the area and when he found nothing he decided that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. "Well, Daddy's on his way ba—"

Gray swung with all his might and landed a crushing blow to the back of Greg's head. The towering raider collapsed in a heap. For a moment Gray thought he'd killed him, but the steady rising of Greg's chest said otherwise. He breathed a sigh of relief, for even though he wanted to ensure their safety, he didn't want to kill anyone. Realizing that he only had a certain amount of time before either Greg came to or Randy returned, Gray grabbed the pipe pistol and looted the unconscious raider for his ammo before heading over to Thalia.

When he got to her she looked devoid of all life. Her hands were bound above her head and her chin was resting against her chest. If Gray hadn't seen the events that transpired between her and Greg, he may have just passed by thinking she was dead. He knew better though and approached her cautiously. Although he was going to rescue her, he wasn't too keen on getting close to her. She and her boyfriend were the reason he was in this mess in the first place.

"Hey, uh, Thalia." He called to her. The green-eyed girl hardly lifted her head, maybe because she had already resigned herself to her fate. "I'm here to—uh—break—no no—save you. Just trust me okay? I'm going to get you down from there." He said, but just like before he didn't receive much of an answer. Gray grabbed the duct tape covering her mouth and removed it carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any more pain. Then grabbing her by the hips, Gray lifted the girl up and off the rusty hook that was holding her up. "There you go. Are you alright?" he asked her. Slowly lifting her head, she finally met the eyes of her savior and she was at a loss for words.

"It—it—it's you. B-but why? Brett and me—or Brett—we—" She struggled with the words.

"Yeah, now really isn't the time to talk about that. Besides I couldn't just let that guy take advantage of you like that. I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Gray told her. Even after his explanation she seemed just as confused about his true motive.

"But—Brett knocked you out and sold you as a slave to these—"

"Never mind that! The important thing right now is getting out of here and I think you'd agree with me on that. So for now, let's just put aside our differences and work together to get the hell out of this place. Can you do that?" he asked. Thalia only nodded her head in response, still seemingly somewhat ashamed of her actions toward him earlier.

"You aren't going anywhere." A rough sounding voice hissed from just behind Gray. Thalia was the first to recognize it and was instantly paralyzed with fear. Gray whipped around and took aim with his newly acquired pipe pistol, but he never got a shot off as his attacker bent low and took him to the floor. The gun bounced out of Gray's hands and skidded out of his reach. Before he could make a move to reach for it, Greg positioned himself on top of him and wrapped his large and grimy hands around his throat. "Yeah! That's right bitch! Thought you got the drop on me you little shit? First I'm going to kill you. Then I'm going to have my fun. I don't care what the boss says. We can do without two slaves anyways!" Greg said maniacally. Desperate and with his vision beginning to blur Gray slapped at his opponent, hoping that one of his hits would be enough to loosen the chokehold he was currently in. He caught a lucky break when Thalia knocked Greg upside the head with the pipe he'd used on him only moments before. Gray rolled over and coughed a few times, struggling to find his breath. His heart was beating so fast and loud that he thought he was going to explode at any second.

Thalia was having a different issue, as she was now engaged in her own personal battle with the crazed raider. Fortune seemed to be on her side as all she was really doing was stumbling backward in the nick of time to avoid vicious punches. Her luck didn't last forever though. After a while of dodging and a misstep on Greg's part, she decided to take another swing with her pipe. Thalia wasn't counting on him to intercept her attack however. He wrenched the pipe from her small hands and grabbed her by the hair. Before he could do any more damage to the poor girl, Gray came charging back in and took him to the floor. The trio tumbled into a nearby shelf with a loud crash, jarring loose dozens of factory parts that landed with different clings and clangs. Gray rose at the same time that Greg did and both immediately noticed that Thalia's leg was trapped under some large pipes. She struggled to free herself, but showed no signs of escaping any time soon. Now that he didn't have to worry about fighting two people at once, the raider smirked knowing that once he dealt with Gray that Thalia wasn't going to be in any position to resist him. He scooped up a nearby steel pipe and charged straight for his target. Although Greg had the advantage in strength, the lone savior was much faster. He rolled right just in time to avoid a vicious overhead swing. The raider was left wide open for an attack, a fact that Gray capitalized on with a blow to the stomach. Winded from the punch, Greg took a couple steps back to compose himself, giving his opponent just enough time to find a pipe of his own. Knowing that he couldn't let his foe catch his breath, Gray leapt forward to begin a battle of clashing pipes. It was like watching two expert swordsman go toe-to-toe. The distinct hum of vibrating metal rang throughout the room after each collision. They couldn't go at it forever though and unfortunately for Thalia, Gray was already starting to slow down considerably. Fatigued as he was, the lone savior took a nasty blow to his right shoulder. The blow disarmed him and left him vulnerable to the kick that came his way. He was fortunate enough to get to his feet just before Greg's second overhead swipe crashed into the concrete floor. In taking another few steps backward as a means to distance himself, Gray kicked Greg's pipe gun several feet back. Both combatants set their sights on the crude weapon and made a dash for it. Although Gray reached the weapon first, Greg was right on top of him. Raider and vault dweller rolled into yet another shelf, each fighting to get ahold of the pipe pistol. Thalia watched in horror as Greg seemed to have the upper hand in the duel since as he was once again sitting atop of Gray. She closed her eyes when she heard two distinct shots and hesitantly looked over in fear of the outcome.

The first thing she saw was the amount of blood that had been sprayed across the room, some of it had even landed on the pipes and factory parts laying near her. Then she noted that Greg wasn't sitting up anymore and Gray didn't seem to be moving. It then registered in her mind that there were two gun shots. Her eyes began to tear up as the possibility of Gray being dead finally hit her. She couldn't help but sob. A part of her cried because she knew that she'd lost her only means of escape with his death and the other part cried because of the guilt she felt in being responsible for his death. She couldn't bring herself to look away from the scene and later she would be happy that she didn't because what she saw next put an end to her moment of brief despair.

The lone savior pushed the body of the now deceased Greg off of him and looked at his hands in complete shock. His breathing was heavier than usual as the image of Greg's lifeless eyes flashed through his mind. They reminded him of the eyes of the girl in Vault 406, the one whose life he'd stolen in his act of defiance. His bloodied hands began to tremble and he was beginning to feel himself slip away. _"_ _I—I—k-k-killed him. H-he d-d-d-died bec-c-ause I shot him. I—I"_ The outside world started to fade out of existence. Suddenly he was surrounded in darkness. A mysterious source of light flicked into being and shone down on two unmoving forms. Gray could've sworn that he saw one of them moving, but he wasn't entirely sure if his eyes were just playing tricks on him. His suspicions were confirmed to be true after a couple of seconds, as both shadows rose to a kneeling position and took their respective shapes. Kiara and Greg, the two lives that Gray had been responsible for in the world of Fallout Online. Greg's silhouette was the first to move toward him.

"Murderer." He hissed.

"No! I was just—defending myself!" The lone savior argued. Kiara followed immediately after the shadowy raider. Even when she said nothing, her penetrating gaze held a look of pain and disdain for him. He knew it. If he didn't openly defy the Overseer, then she wouldn't have had to have died.

"Murderer!" Greg shouted as he closed in on him. Gray could feel his throat begin to constrict, like he was being choked again by the spirit of the crazed raider. "Murderer!" he shouted again and again, shaking Gray like a rattle. Then without warning, a surge of bright light washed over the darkness in the form of a thick fog. Greg's shadow was vaporized in the process, but Kiara's didn't. He saw her lips move but he had difficulty reading them. Her motions started getting more frantic and she looked like she was in a state of discomfort. Not wanting to let her down for a second time, Gray called out to her.

"What is it? What do you need?"

Her mouth continued on in the same movement. As far as he could tell, she was saying the same word over and over again. Then he heard it. The sound was distant and still not clear enough for him to understand. He paid close attention to her lips and waited for the sound to come again.

"G…y…r…y…a…g…r…ay…gr…a…y…"

 _"_ _Gray? Why is she screaming my name?"_ he wondered. Realizing that her job was now done, Kiara began to fade away. "No! Wait!" Gray reached for the spirit of the girl in an attempt to keep her from disappearing again. Deep down he knew that there was no bringing her back, but he was clinging to the hope that if he stopped her now then by some miracle she'd be resurrected. His hand phased right through her body and he fell straight to the ground.

"Gray! Gray!" he heard a voice call to him. Raising his head to see if it was Kiara calling to him he found the young girl shaking her head at him. She tilted her head slightly and smiled down at him, like she was forgiving him for the events that took place in Vault 406.

"Kiara! Wait! Don't go—I need to—you weren't supposed to die damn it! It was all my—"

He stopped midsentence as her spirit shook her head in front of him once more only to smile again before disappearing completely. The fog that had surrounded him began to clear and the old and rusty room started to come into focus.

"Gray! Hey! Please Gray! Snap out of it! Gray!" he heard the familiar voice again. It took a moment for him to take in his surroundings and locate the person speaking to him. His eyes finally focused on the form of a green-eyed girl with short hair who looked to be very uncomfortable. It took another moment for his memories of the last several minutes to return and then he finally understood what was going on.

"Thalia! Sorry about that. I err—uh—" His words failed him as he couldn't find a way to explain what had just transpired.

"Forget it! Just help me out of here before the others find us!" She said quickly. Gray was a little taken aback by her sudden change of demeanor. From what he recalled, she wasn't very talkative and seemed defeated when he saved her. Nonetheless, he shrugged it off knowing that he had more important things to worry about and ran over to help the trapped girl. When he got to her he tried figuring out what her foot was caught under but with no luck. There were just too many pipes to get a good look and they'd waste too much time if he tried to remove each individual one. "I think it's caught under the big one right there." She informed him.

"You think?" Gray raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I think. I kind of lost all feeling in that foot. That's what happens when it gets crushed by a large steel pipe." She said sarcastically.

 _"_ _Yep, she's definitely returned to her normal self."_ Gray noted after her response. He maneuvered into position and used every ounce of his strength to lift the heavy pipe. Dozens of smaller pipes slipped off because of the sudden angle shift and landed on the ground with several loud 'clangs'.

"Hey! Did you hear that? I think it's coming from the manufacturing room!" The duo heard a distant voice call out.

"Yeah! Maybe it's the prisoners that Randy was talking about!"

"Damn! They're coming, Thalia can you move?" Gray managed to say whilst holding up the heavy tube of metal.

"Yeah, I'm free now. Thanks." She said. After hearing those words Gray let the pipe down slowly as to not raise more alarm. Then he hopped over to the sitting form of Thalia and handed her the pipe pistol. "What's this for?" She asked confusedly. In her mind she thought he was going to leave her to fend for herself while he made his own getaway. His next response shocked her even more then when he saved her.

"To shoot. I'm going to carry you on my back and you're going to make sure no one gets a shot at us."

"Carry me?"

"Yeah, you aren't going to get anywhere with that ankle of yours. So are you ready because we don't have much time." Gray said as he kneeled down with his back toward her. "Climb on." Seeing no other option, she did as she was told and wrapped one arm around his neck while the other hung loosely over his chest clutching the makeshift pistol. Thalia blushed when she felt his arms wrap around her bare legs, because it was then that she realized that she was only in a white tank top and her underwear. It wasn't any easier for Gray, as he could feel her soft mounds pressing against his back and the heat of her breath on his neck. It took major concentration for him to control his 'inner urges' in order to focus on the task at hand. It helped him a lot when the raiders started banging on the two double doors that were the duo's means of escape.

"What are doing idiot? Get in there!" One raider growled.

"I'm trying! The damned slaves must have barred the door from the other side!" The other explained.

"Like hell they did. You're just too weak to open a set of metal doors." The rougher sounding of the two said.

"Fine! You try and open it then Mr. Tough Guy!"

"I will and when I do you'll give me your share of today's caps."

"Fine by me, because when you don't you'll be giving me your share of today's caps." The weaker sounding of the two huffed.

"Alright. Deal! Those caps are as good as mine. Now let me show you how a real man opens up a door. Take notes because all you have to do is give it a little—push!" Despite his efforts, the door still didn't open. "WHAT!?"

"Ahahahaha! See told you so! Looks like I won the bet. No caps for you today Slade!" the first raider laughed hysterically.

"Yeah, yeah so what? We still need to get in there and find out what's going on you idiot. If the prisoners escape the boss will have our heads and neither of us will get paid!"

"Oh yeah, you're right. Hmm, I guess we just keep pounding at the door then. It should open eventually right?"

"Yeah, you got that right Buck. No way it can withstand the two of us. On three okay? One—two—and three!" The door rattled but like before showed no signs of opening.

"What a bunch of idiots." Thalia said into Gray's ear, earning a small chuckle from the black haired teen.

"Damn! This is one tough door! Alright let's come at it harder this time. On three again Buck! One—two—three!" The raiders slammed into the door with all of their might, but with no luck. Surprisingly, they Buck and Slade decided to go at it one more time, although they were beginning to sound a little a loopy.

"Okay Buck—I can fweel the door bweaking—one more go and tose prisoners are as good as ours. On thwee! O-one! T-t-two! Thwee!" Once again the raiders charged forward with everything they had and surprisingly the door finally burst open. Unfortunately for Buck and Slade, they would never get to celebrate their success as they came barreling in completely unconscious.

"Well, they got the door open." Gray remarked earning a giggle from the green-eyed girl.

"Yeah they sure did." She replied as she readied her pistol.

"You ready to go?" The lone savior asked as he approached the double doors.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Just promise me one thing."

"And what's that?" Gray asked.

"Don't get us killed." Thalia ordered. She took one final deep breath and pulled herself a little closer to her new companion. The green-eyed beauty was surprised at how comfortable she felt in her proximity to him. She was never this comfortable around Brett and she doubted she ever would be. He did sell her to these people for a meager 200 caps after all. Before she could reflect on her ex any longer, Gray's voice filled her thoughts.

"I won't." he answered.

"Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep."

"Doubting me?"

"Not at all Gray."

"Then Thalia, you have nothing to worry about." He replied. Given that neither of them knew where they were going, they were limited on ammo, and the fact that he had to carry her on his back, they both knew that their chances of survival were slim at best. Despite their odds, Gray's words had a strange way of reassuring her. They carried within them something that she thought she'd lost the moment she found out that she was trapped inside of a video game. That feeling she had was the same one that gave heroes and armies the strength to face even the most overwhelming of situations with courage. It was the feeling that made everything okay in the face of despair. That feeling was hope.

 ** _A/N_** : Well, it has definitely been a while wastelanders! My life has been a mix of school and Fallout 4, but mostly Fallout 4. (Amazing game btw!) Lol. I decided to hold off on writing this chapter until after the release of F4 as a means of finding new ideas and what-not. As you can see I will be incorporating things like the pipe-pistol and the weapon crafting system into this story, as well as the many other weapons from F3 and New Vegas. Originally this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but I couldn't fit the two ideas I wanted to work in here nicely so I decided to split it up into two different chapters. Other than that, I don't really have much to say. So if I don't post by this Thursday, I'd like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving (if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving I wish you a happy Thursday!). REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!

 ** _The world traveler:_** _ **I couldn't agree more! Trust is not something that should easily be given, especially in the wasteland. Maybe Gray will learn from that experience? Oh and while there may be an Enclave, BOY do I have ideas for antagonists! I'll give you a hint, there will be five antagonists. That's right. FIVE! Lol. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**_

 ** _mr I hate znt nobles kill em: If you thought the Joker was bad, wait until you see the other guys! I do have to admit, I may have went a tad-bit overboard in that first chapter there. Still, it made things a lot more interesting don't you think? Anywho, thanks for the review and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story!_**

Well, that's about it guys, so as always if you have any comments, suggestions, questions, ideas, or concerns, feel free to PM me or leave a review! Until next time, Frosty out!


	4. Chapter 4: Escape

Disclaimer: I do not own **** ** _Fallout or Sword Art Online or any of its characters! I do claim ownership of this story and its characters however!_**

Chapter 4: Escape

Almost a full week had passed from the time Alyson discovered Gray's comatose body in his room. It had rained every day since then. She remembered watching the doctors come into his room and attempting to move him, only to realize that if they did he'd certainly die. Instead, they opted to set up the necessary equipment to keep him alive in his spacious room and Aly was the first to volunteer to keep watch over him. Unfortunately for her though, she still had to go to school and ever since the incident she couldn't hate Riverwood High more. Teachers and students alike disregarded the whole situation like it was the fault of the gamers who'd gotten trapped. Sure, there were some groups like the Gamers' Guild and the Programming Prodigies that were at least trying to do something for those imprisoned in the game, but that was about it. Everyone else had kind of just shrugged it off as, "If they didn't play then it wouldn't have happened." Alyson often found herself meeting with the 'geeks' of the school as most of the popular kids would've called them, in order to get a better understanding of the tech that Gray uses. Initially the group was hesitant to let her in and she understood perfectly why they weren't so eager to accept her: her ex-boyfriend. Brian and his crowd caused the 'techies' of Riverwood High more than enough trouble.

"Why should we let you in?" she remembered the tall and freckly leader of the Programming Prodigies asking her when she stumbled into one of their meetings. That was when she told her the story of Gray and how she just wanted to find a way to help him. Some of the members of the club were still 'iffy' on letting her join the group, even if she was a friend of Gray's. Those that voted against her joining felt that it was just some sort of prank put on by the popular crowd as another way of messing with them. Alyson was quick to tell them that it wasn't anything like that and tried to explain to them that she really did want to help. Despite her efforts, it seemed as if they were going to send her away, but luckily for her the leader of the Gamer's Guild and one of Gray's few friends at Riverwood vouched for her. With their backing the Programming Prodigies found no reason not to let her join. Once she introduced herself to everyone, the leader of the club, Jeremy, told her all the necessary meeting dates and other information she needed to know if she was serious about being a member. Then she received an honorary pin and she was officially inducted into the club. Her first meeting with the group was only two days away and she was actually somewhat excited. For once she'd be diving into Gray's element and she had the biggest smile on her face just thinking about how surprised he'd be when she broke him free of the helmet's clutches.

"Ms. Gable!"

"Huh!? What?" She broke free from her stupor and found herself in the middle of her anatomy class.

"Please follow along with the lesson. This is material that is going to be on the test and I won't be going over it again." Mr. Bryant said.

"Oh uh-huh. Kay! Got it." She answered. Inwardly, however she was sticking her tongue out at the elderly teacher. She couldn't stand him. _"_ _Whatever though, I've got more important things on my mind. Don't worry Gray, I'll bust you out of there soon enough! Please, just don't be doing anything stupid right now."_ She silently prayed, knowing the amount of trouble her best friend was capable of kicking up. Although she was hoping that Gray was staying out of harm's way, something deep down inside of her knew that he was knee deep in some sort of trouble. If she only knew how spot on she was!

 ** _In Fallout: Online_** …

In the twenty minutes that had passed since Gray and Thalia escaped from whatever fate Greg had in store for them, two things became apparent to the black-haired boy. One was that they were totally lost within the winding halls and wide-open assembly lines of the factory. Then there was the _other_ thing. That one thing that he didn't want to admit, partially because of the pride that all men seem to carry at such an age and also because he knew of the repercussions that would follow if he made the mistake of speaking his mind.

The beautiful and buxom-bodied Thalia was starting to grow heavy. _"_ _I knew I should have invested more in the Strength attribute!"_ he mentally berated himself. The last thing he wanted was for her to think that he was weak or something, but he just couldn't help it. Twenty minutes of running and dodging raiders really takes a toll on a guy.

"Hey, um Gray?" She whispered from behind him. Quiet as it was, Thalia's sudden call made him jump up and thus, he accidently banged her head against one of the steel beams they were hiding under. "Ow!" She yelped.

"Did you hear that? Sounds like its coming from the other room!" One of the raiders called out.

"Thalia! Shit! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to—" He began, but stopped when her hand covered his mouth. Good timing too, as the raider patrol that had heard them burst into the room.

"There's no one here Rat. You sure you heard something?" One of the four guards asked.

"Damn it! I told you not to call me that and yes I'm positive I heard voices! Look around, they have to be in here somewhere! I can feel it!" The scrawny raider said while checking behind some boxes.

"I don't know Rat, maybe you were just imagining things. There doesn't seem to be anyone in here. Either they high tailed it out of here after they made the noise or it was you imagining things again." Said a raven haired teen with a muscular physique.

"It's Randy for crying out loud Damien! And I swear that I heard voices coming from this room! Maybe they are like that one guy and hide in the shadows or something!"

"Sounds to me like all that talk about the mysterious assassin Rogue is starting to get to your head now." The platinum blonde spoke after joining the group in the middle of the room once more. As much as they were holding their breaths, Gray and Thalia couldn't help but be interested at the sudden mentioning of this mysterious character.

"Mysterious assassin? You mean that guy that's been going around and killing other raider gangs for no reason?" Came the voice of a female raider with mohawk styled hair. She seemed to be the most reckless of the group as she casually twirled her pipe pistol around her finger.

"Could you stop spinning that thing! You're gonna hurt somebody!" Rat complained.

"Quit being such a whiny bitch. I swear, maybe I should just shoot you!" She threatened.

"Enough! Mirna, please just stop twirling your gun." Damien ordered.

"Fine, if it'll get the damn crybaby to shut up." She said while holstering her pistol and sticking her tongue out at Randy. "If we're lucky, maybe Rogue will come and kill you one of these days." She teased the frailest member of her team.

"Says you! I heard that he's particularly fond of gutting females that think they are top shit." Randy fired back.

"Bullshit! You just made that up." Mirna called the bluff. "I may not be the smartest girl in the world, but I do know that his attacks have been relentless! Shit, male, female, that guy doesn't care! He'll cut down anyone that stands in his fucking way. See, now that's a guy that I can stand behind. Not like this Kent douchebag. Just a big pussy if you ask me."

"Come on Mirna, Kent isn't that bad." The platinum blonde defended the raider leader.

"Yeah James. He's the best leader around. There's a crazed maniac running around the wasteland gunning down people like us and what does our fearless leader do about it? Jack shit that's what! If you ask me, we got the guns and the manpower to hunt down this asshole. Why wait around for him to come to us when we can catch him by surprise? The way Kent's leading us, it is only a matter of time before we are next I tell you." She argued.

"Yeah, yeah okay Mirna I think you've said enough for today. Now if we're done talking about some boogey-man that doesn't even exist, can we get back to the matter at hand? Two prisoners are missing and fearless or not, I'd rather not be on the receiving end of Kent's fury." Damien spoke. The raven-haired teen then led his group out of the room and into the next area to continue their search for Gray and Thalia.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Gray crawled out from underneath an old repair workshop and extended his hand for Thalia to do the same. "That was a close one." He whispered to her as she climbed on his back once more. Secretly, he was thankful that he'd accidently bumped her head. The raiders' search for them gave him the much needed break he so desired.

"Yeah, just don't go banging my head into anything else okay? I'd very much like to stay conscious for the trip." Thalia responded sarcastically. The green-eyed teen wrapped her arms tightly around Gray's neck and rested her head against the back of his. For such a weird position, it was surprisingly comfortable.

"You all cozy back there?" He asked while readjusting his arms around her legs.

"Mmhmm." She muttered in response. He wanted to tell her to stay on alert in case they'd run into any raiders, but he decided against it. With rejuvenated strength, Gray cautiously made his way into the next room. The next area was larger than the previous one they were in, mostly in part due to the fact that this room wasn't crammed full with barrels, boxes, and various forms of machinery. From the looks of it they had made their way to a boiler room.

"Any of this look familiar to you?" He jostled Thalia gently to help get her attention. She didn't even bother to raise her head when she spoke.

"I had a bag over my head." She reminded him. Sighing, Gray continued onward aimlessly. "Hey, don't do that."

"Don't do what?" He said.

"Sigh like that. We've been wandering around for quite some time now. The exit is bound to be coming up soon. Try to stay positive, okay?" She tried cheering him up. Thalia didn't know herself if they were even going to make it out alive. The girl was surprised to even make it this far. Even so, if she was going to die in the virtual world then she wanted to go out happy.

"Yeah, yeah gotcha." He responded unenthusiastically. Gray didn't mean to sound rude, but he was starting to get frustrated. Never in a million years would he have thought that booting up Fallout: Online would be something that he'd ultimately regret. Now here he was, with someone else's life on his hands as well as his own. He began to wonder if this is how he'd spend the rest of his days in the Grand Wasteland, getting into one crappy situation after another until he wound up dead or someone managed to break them out of their virtual death sentence.

Like Gray, Thalia was silent and couldn't help but lose herself in her thoughts. The most prominent of them was her disbelief at Gray's willingness to help her. In the four days that she'd been trapped in FO, she could not recall a single person that willingly helped her out without some sort of catch. Not even Brett, the man that she was forced to accompany. The man who had sold her for the same price that he'd bought her for.

 ** _Flashback…_**

Everyone in Vault 369 had been stripped of their names and collared. The only other thing that they received was a price tag; fifty caps. That's how it started for everyone. Thalia watched as her friends were sold off and taken away to God knows where, wondering if she'd ever see them again. On the second day they called her to the stage, Slave E-419. Almost immediately people started to bid, 65, 75, 80, 105, 150, then _BAM!_ It was the loudest thing that she'd ever heard. Her ears were ringing and the guy in front of her had the largest bloodstain that she'd ever seen. Naturally, he fell over and died. Then out came Brett twirling his prized 44. Magnum carelessly. The look on his face was so smug, something that was beyond Thalia's comprehension. _"_ _How could anyone smile like that after killing someone!?"_ She wanted to scream, but her voice failed her.

"Anyone else want to make a bid?" He said as he took center stage and wrapped his arm around Thalia. Brett must have known what she was going to do next, because before she could shove him away he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "If you want to live I'd suggest playing along. Remember, I've got a gun." Aware that she did not have very many options, Thalia figured that it would just be best to go along with whatever Brett was planning. "Good girl." He whispered, much to her disgust. "Two hundred caps!" Brett said as he slammed the small pouch on the podium. The platinum blonde waved his gun around, daring anyone to try and up his offer. Not a soul took the bait, tempted as they may have been with the green-eyed teen's good looks. "Got a name?" Brett asked and awaited an answer. When Thalia mustered the courage to speak, Brett only shook his head in dissatisfaction. "That won't do. It isn't unique enough for me. Your new name is Thalia. Like it? Sounds more exotic don't you think? Whatever, don't answer that. I do not really care what you think, because you will be doing what I say when I say, understand?" He barked the moment they got off the stage. She wanted to argue, but when he had a magnum pointed at her face she could only manage to nod her head. "Good, glad we understand each other. Now let's get out of this hellhole, eh Thalia?" He grinned mischievously

"Y-yes Master."

 ** _Flashback End…_**

Gray's sudden movements brought her out of her thoughts and back into reality. The black haired teen quickly took her behind some shelving lined with differing automotive parts. It provided ample cover from whatever Gray was trying to hide from.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"Footsteps, coming this way." He informed. Right on cue, three raiders entered the room and appeared to be completely out of breath. Based on their facial expressions Gray could tell that they weren't looking for them. It seemed a little odd to him that these raiders broke out into a full out sprint for no real reason. _"_ _Maybe they're running from something. But what?"_ A question that would soon be answered.

"Alright guys, I think we shook the bastard." A raider with tangled locks and wild eyes said in between breaths.

"Yeah, but we lost Tom! The poor guy." The rounder raider replied. Suddenly the lights in the room flickered.

"Oh shit! He's here. Ruuuu-" Gray couldn't tell what raider was speaking and the lights situation didn't help to calm his nerves. He could feel Thalia's grip begin to tighten and he could hear her heavy breathing. That was nothing compared to the horrendous screams of terror coming from the raiders in the room.

When the lights came back on, only one raider remained. "W-w-where did they go?" He asked shakily. His answer came when a small drop of blood landed on his twitching fingers. "No. Th-th-they can't b-b-e-e." Every fiber of his being told him not to look up. He knew what he would see, the dead visage of one of his friends. Still, that hardly stopped him from meeting his deceased friend's gaze. Before the raider could utter a sound, he was lifted off of his feet by a mysterious force.

 _"_ _What the hell!?"_ Gray thought as he watched the spectacle unfold before his eyes. The survivor was then pulled towards a tall and menacing figure standing in the middle of the room. _"_ _Where did he come from!?"_

Now in a chokehold, the raider thrashed about to try and shake free of the figure's grasp. The mysterious assailant would have none of it though and seemingly tightened his iron grip. Gray couldn't make out a thing in the darkness of the room, save for the sound of someone gasping for breath. When the lights in the room flickered back into existence, he finally caught sight of the assassin.

Clothed in all black, the killer was tall and lean. His dark purple hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that reached the base of his neck and most of his face was covered by a rebreather of some sort. Every few seconds, a cloud of black gas would puff out from the mask on his face, giving him a rather ghastly appearance. The most notable of his features however were his eyes. The iris was a dark purple that practically glowed thanks to the blackness that surrounded it. It was like staring into the eyes of a demon. When he spoke, his voice was raspy but firm. It was the essence of fear itself.

"You have something that I want. A person to be exact." He hissed.

 _"_ _What is this guy? Some kind of slaver!?"_ Gray thought from the shadows. Thalia had climbed off his back in favor of getting a better view herself. She stood shoulder to shoulder next to her savior and was shaking considerably at the sight of this new presence. She couldn't help but feel like this guy was after her. Noticing his companion's sudden discomfort, Gray placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. Her comfort was short-lived as the shadowy man's voice pierced the air once more.

"A prisoner you recently came across. He was dumped here by one of my slavers. Eye-patch. Average build. Tell me where I can find him and I may just make you my personal slave." Gray silently gasped as he realized that he fit the description. Even Thalia was looking at him with her hands over her mouth, like she'd just conspired with some vicious criminal.

 _"_ _Me? What does that guy want with me!?"_ Gray thought as he paid closer attention to the ongoing conversation.

"Lo-ok m-an. I don't know who you're talking—gah—about. I ju—st—uh—do patrols around this place—pl-please don't kill me. I'll he—lp you find him if—you let me go." The raider pleaded.

"Let you go? Why would I do that?" The man replied at the same time he tightened his grip on his victim's throat.

"Ca—cause I—ah—know this place better than anyone else. Also I can h-help negotiate with Krazy f-f-or you." The reply caused the shadowy figure to erupt into a fit of maniacal laughter. The sound itself lifted the hairs on the back of anyone's neck who'd been close enough to hear it.

 _"_ _This guy… he's—he's something else. What did the Wasteland do to people?"_ Gray thought.

"You're funny. I like you. So much more than your fearless leader. The moment he heard my name, he ran like I was about to put a slave collar around his neck. He didn't last nearly as long as you did." The assailant hissed.

"So—uh—does that mean you'll—ah—let me go?" The raider said, holding on to that small sliver of hope that he had. The purple eyed man tilted his head and even with the mask Gray could tell that he was smiling.

"No." He responded as he mercilessly slammed his prey into the ground with so much force it left a crater and shook the room. Coated in the blood of the helpless raider, the black and red adversary began to leave for the opposite end of the room.

Gray and Thalia could barely contain themselves. That kind of power was unimaginable, hell it was impossible. No human could ever exhibit that much force from such an attack. The duo didn't have the heart to look toward the crater. They doubted there'd be much to look at anyway.

"Gray… you felt that too… right? I wasn't just imagining that he—that he just—killed him like that." She whispered in disbelief. Gray didn't say anything. He couldn't believe that it had happened himself.

 _"_ _How is it possible for someone to be that powerful!?"_ He wondered. _"_ _If there are others like him in Fallout Online then… survival… is going to be a real pain in the ass."_

"This isn't real. This isn't real. I need to get out of here. I need to. I have to." The green eyed girl began to panic and could contain herself no longer. Gray moved to restrain her but in his attempt the girl accidently knocked over a gasoline canister that landed with a loud thud.

"Thalia get a hold of yourself! Damn it!" He tried calming her down, but it was already too late. The man had already set his sights on the two escapees. Gray didn't even have time to blink when the shelf shielding them from the deadly maniac was tossed aside like it weighed nothing. _"_ _What!? He's on the other side of the room! How did he move the shelf?"_ Then he remembered how the raider was lifted off his feet earlier and it all made sense. _"_ _I don't know how he does it, but this guy can move things without even touching them. I don't want to stick around to find out either. Got to find a way out of here or me and Thalia are going to be toast!"_ Gray looked around for an out. They weren't that far from the next room and could make a break for it if they wanted, but he doubted that their assailant would let them slip away that easy.

"Ah! There you are. We've been looking all over for you." The man called from across the room. Thalia fell to her knees in defeat. After seeing what the man was capable of all hope of escaping with her life seemed all too distant. _"_ _This is all my fault… if I didn't freak out… Gray and I could've slipped away…"_ She clasped her head in her hands.

"Thalia." Gray said as he watched the girl crumble before his eyes. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve any of this. Sure, she may have gotten him into a situation but as far as he could tell it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter. In the brief time that he was able to get to know her, she was actually pretty nice. _"_ _I made her a promise. I was supposed to get us both out of here alive. If I'm going to break it, the least I can do is make sure that she has a shot. Damn. Well, here goes nothing—_ Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"You mean that you don't know? Guess word travels pretty slow around here. I'm Rogue and I have to say you really were tough to track down. Guess I should have expected that from Vault 406's lone survivor." He said with a glint in his eye. The realization hit Gray like a slap to the face. Dumbfounded Gray's whole body seemed to shut down.

 _"_ _I was the only one… to make it out? But…_ " The sad truth hit him and it hit the survivor hard. Deep down he knew that something wasn't right the moment he left the vault, but he refused to believe it. If Jay said that they were going to be just fine, then Gray would trust his word. Now that truth had reared its ugly head for the teen, he didn't know how to respond.

"Oops! Did I say that out loud? My bad! Slip of the tongue, what can I say?" The man broke into a twisted fit of hysteria. Watching the reaction of his target was all too enjoyable for the assassin. He pressed further. "Don't worry though, their deaths were slow and painful. Their agonized cries for mercy were like music to my ears! My friends and I really did a number on them!"

"Shut up!" Gray yelled in anger.

"Don't get mad at me now, your friends were asking for it! After all, they stole something from us and gave it to you. If you all had just been good little boys and girls then maybe they'd still be alive right now, but enough chit-chat. Tell me where you are hiding it and I promise that I will make you and your friend's death there swift."

"What the hell are you talking about? I never took anything from you or your people!"

"Don't play dumb with me Boy. I know that they gave it to you. If my dumbass brother hadn't let you out, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You escaped with the serum and hid it somewhere. Tell me where you are hiding it thief!" The assassin raged.

 _"_ _Serum? I never had any serum… this guy is a lunatic! Hmm, this may be my only chance to give Thalia the chance to escape. I've got to act quickly though. I also haven't seen him use that weird ability of his yet. So either he is just that much of a dick or he can only use every so often. If that's the case then maybe I have a window of opportunity to get both of us out of here in one piece."_ Steeling his nerves and quelling his anger for the time being, Gray enacted the first part of his plan.

"Alright, if that is what you are looking for then let's make a deal." Gray said calmly. The sudden change of demeanor annoyed the man. He liked it better when his victims begged for their lives, but in this case he just couldn't kill his target and be done with it. Red would have his head if he didn't retrieve the serum and his power had some time before he could use it again. All he could do now was negotiate with the pesky thief.

"Go on."

"I give you the serum and you let my friend go. This is between you and me. No need for an unnecessary casualty. You agree to that and you can have your serum." Gray explained.

 _"_ _Who the fuck does this little shit think he is? Making demands of me? Sure I'll agree to his deal. Then I'll kill him and his friend. He won't be alive to stop me so what's the harm in playing along?"_ The man thought mischievously. "Fine. I accept your deal." He answered.

"Alright then. To make sure that there is no trickery on your part, Thalia gets to leave now. Once I feel that she's gotten to a safe enough distance I'll give you your serum." Gray replied with a sly smile.

"You can't do that! We agreed that once I got the serum, she'd be free to go!" The man yelled out in frustration. Not having the edge in the arguments really annoyed him. He may have been Red's personal assassin, but he was no good at diplomacy. Rogue liked to shoot first and ask questions later, but this time he had to follow orders. If this serum got away from them, then they'd have a serious hole in their plans. _"_ _Damn him! He's lucky that I won't be able to use Gravitate for at least another five minutes!"_

"I can do whatever I want. I have the serum. Kill me or her and you can kiss it goodbye. You'll never find it without me." Gray stood confident. Behind the façade however, his mind and heart were racing. He was honestly surprised that the ruse worked, seeing as how he first insisted that he didn't know anything about the mysterious serum. Still he was buying much needed time and he knew that he couldn't stall forever. If he was going to keep his promise to Thalia, he needed to do something and quick.

"Fine." Rogue seethed. He watched as Gray turned around and helped Thalia to her feet. It looked like they were talking but he paid it no mind. He was more focused on the fact that the girl appeared to be injured. He smiled devilishly knowing that he could still have an opportunity to satisfy his bloodlust. _"_ _Seems he has to help her get to the hallway. No matter, he makes any move to escape I'll just kill the girl and bring him back to base. Red will surely get the information we need from him. That's if he runs though. I'd much rather have the sweet satisfaction of killing the two myself."_ He watched the two move like a hawk. One false move and he'd guarantee that they would definitely pay.

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Thalia asked as Gray escorted her over to the hallway where she'd make her escape.

"We're just going to have to see about that. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?" He said to lighten the mood.

"We die." She answered clearly not amused.

"Love the enthusiasm." Gray sweat dropped. They were nearing the final steps of their little journey. This was what it all came down to. They only had one-shot. Hit it and they escape, miss and they will both perish. "Hey Thalia, how good's your aim?"

"Is that something that you really want to be asking me right now?"

"Of course, my life is in your hands now. No pressure or anything." He teased despite the situation.

"I hate you." She said with a gentle smile. Gray couldn't help but chuckle as they reached the entrance to the hallway.

"Hey, if we're going to die, might as well be with smiles right?" Gray said with the toothiest grin. The green eyed girl blushed and couldn't help but return the smile. In those moments of fear, Thalia forgot all about the promise she made to herself because she was afraid that she wouldn't live to see another day. But, this boy, he saved her twice. Even after she'd done him so wrong, he put his life on the line for her. Seeing that kind of resolve, that kind of kindness, gave her hope. No longer was she afraid of dying, but she wasn't ready to go just yet. After all, she just learned that the reality she was currently imprisoned in, might not be so bad after all.

 _"_ _Gray, you idiot."_ She smiled as they prepared to enact the final stage of their plan. _"_ _If we do get out of this alive, I promise that I'll make things right."_

 _"_ _What does this fool think he's doing? He isn't thinking about running away is he?"_ Rogue thought as he watched them from the opposite end of the room. _"_ _Run away little bugs and I swear you will regret it."_

"Hey asshole! Want your serum? Here, have it!" Gray moved his hand in a throwing motion and turned around just as quickly to scoop Thalia up bridal style. _"_ _Please work. Please work. Please work."_ His mind chanted as he ran forward as fast as he could.

 _"_ _Damn him! If the serum vial breaks, then the liquid inside will disappear! I can't let the vial drop, but where did that little shit throw it!?"_ The assassin thought as he scouted the air frantically. It was at times like this that he really wished he carried a gun. After about two seconds he realized that Gray hadn't thrown anything at all. It was just one big bluff.

 _"_ _Boom bitch!"_ Thalia thought as she fired off two rounds of her pipe pistol. The first round missed Rogue by a hair.

"Ha! If only your aim were true, then maybe you would have lived to see tomorrow!" Rogue cried in victory as he prepared to chase down his latest victims. He paused briefly though, when he saw the cocky and smug smile that was plastered on the girl's face before it disappeared when she turned forward. Then he saw the small trail of fire snaking its way past him, where it was about to reach a large tank of gasoline. _"_ _Well those little—"_

The explosion rattled the building and set off a chain of larger explosions that challenged the structural integrity of the factory. The support beams groaned from the stress of the shifting weight and falling debris made navigating the halls much more dangerous, but took the heat of raiders trying to kill them away. Now, everyone was running for their lives.

Thalia buried her face near Gray's shoulder and huddled up as close to him as she possibly could. Of course, the move wouldn't do her much good if they were crushed but still, she felt much safer that way. As much as he was bouncing around, Thalia was surprisingly comfortable in her little nook against him.

Despite the situation, Gray was not oblivious to his sudden proximity to the girl in his arms. Even so, his mind was more focused on how to get them out of their current predicament than it was on how nice it was to have her in his arms. When he caught sight of the factory's entrance point he breathed a sigh of relief and took off at full speed, dodging falling beams, machinery, and the fallen bodies of unfortunate raiders.

"Gray!" She yelled as they narrowly avoided a large slab of concrete that would've splattered them all over the floor. "It's getting a little close for comfort in here!" Gray didn't answer and instead focused on the final stretch of their escape. The window of opportunity was slim and if their timing wasn't right then the factory would take them with it when it kicked the proverbial bucket. With speed that rivaled an Olympic runner's, Gray closed the gap that separated them from a close shave and a gruesome death. Despite the valiant effort, he realized that it wouldn't be enough. The building was going to collapse at any second and no amount of speed could get him those few extra steps in time. Making a last minute decision, Gray tossed Thalia unexpectedly into the air.

 _"_ _The world is a cruel place. I understand that now."_ Gray thought as he watched Thalia fly through the air. Somehow, the girl had managed to turn herself around and reached out to her doomed companion. Gray couldn't stop himself from returning the gesture and felt like he'd just been stabbed when he saw the look in her eyes. He wanted to escape with her, he really did. The farther she drifted away from him, the slower everything seemed. Thalia. He imagined all the things that the two of them could have accomplished together. All the things that would never be. _"_ _That's too bad. We would've made one kick-ass team."_ His eyes drifted to her outstretched fingers that were desperately trying to make contact with his own. A falling piece of debris smacked his arm down and suddenly she was beginning to disappear behind the rainfall of stones and metal. _"_ _Thalia. I'm sorry."_ Then everything went dark.

She landed with a hard thud and had the wind knocked out of her. Once she'd recovered from the initial shock of what just happened, Thalia hobbled back to the pile of rubble as fast as she could. _"_ _No, no, no, no, no! He didn't just do that! I couldn't have been the only one… He…._ GRAY!" His name burst from her lips just as the tears began to escape her eyes. _"_ _Why!? I shouldn't have been the one to survive! Give him back! Take me instead, please! I'm begging you!"_ She pleaded while pulling rocks and scraps of metal from the wreckage. _"_ _Why am I always the one to survive? Why does everyone have to leave me!? It isn't fair damn it!"_ She hadn't known him long, but she felt like she'd just lost her best friend. Again, she was all alone. The feeling was terrible and as horrible as it sounded, she felt that Gray got the better end of the deal. No. She wouldn't let it end this way. He had to be alive. He made her a promise and she'd be damned if she let him get away with breaking it. One rock after another she plucked and tossed, slowly unearthing her friend in the process. _"_ _I told him that I'd make things right! He can't die yet! Not like this! Gray, it's my turn to save you!"_

Everything was quiet. There was no sense of time or existence. He was in a state of nothingness. It was abnormal. It was—serene. _"_ _Am I—am I dead?"_ Gray thought. He could hear something above him, it was distant and hard to make out. Instinctively, he reached toward the sound and was shocked when he felt something cold and smooth. His hands continued to roam the darkness like mini-radars trying to map out everything that was around him. The sensations of the objects his hands glazed over all felt strangely familiar, like they all belonged to a world that he was once a part of. Steel, Concrete, Glass, Brick, Realization. _"_ _I'm still alive!?"_ All of the doubt swirling around inside him said that it wasn't so, but yet there was no denying it. Somehow he ended up entombed but unscathed in the destruction of the factory. _"_ _I've got to get out of here."_ He pushed up against the slanted slab of concrete above him with all of his might and found that he couldn't get it to move. _"_ _Damn! It's too heavy. Still, there's got to be a way out of here!"_ He felt a thick liquid trickle down his right arm and into his shirt. That's when he remembered that his arm had taken a hit when he was reaching out for Thalia earlier. Dark as it was and with adrenaline pumping through his veins, there was no way for him to gauge the severity of the wound. Better for him, as he could continue to focus his efforts on breaking out of his tomb. He prepared to give the slab another push, this time with the help of his legs when he heard his name. Muffled as it was, he recognized the voice of the green-eyed beauty and felt a wave of relief knowing that she'd made it out okay. Feeling a bit more motivated than before, Gray began to push back on the debris that trapped him. He fought against the weight of the slab, the weight of the world he lived in, the cards that fate had dealt him, and the idea that he'd go down without a fight.

The force of his effort was enough to slightly raise the roof of his entrapment, but it still wasn't enough. He needed to dig deeper, to find the willpower to do the impossible. _"_ _I won't be defeated by a damn rock!"_ He let loose a cry of determination. He poured every last ounce of strength into his relentless assault to break free of his prison. _"_ _For the people of Vault 406 who didn't have a choice in their fate, I will become an avenger. For Alyson and my family and friends back in the real world, I will live long enough to see the day that I return to them. For Thalia and anyone else trapped in this virtual hellhole of an MMO, I will fight to protect them. I WILL RISE!"_

Just as things were beginning to seem hopeless for Thalia, she saw a beacon of hope. Something was fighting to emerge from the rubble and she had a pretty good feeling as to what it was. Before she could move in to help, Gray rose from the rubble covered in dust, blood, and sweat. "Damn that shit was heavy." He said with a toothy grin. Thalia said nothing as she leapt across the distance that separated them and into his arms.

"You're alive!" She yelled into his chest. He winced as his body was sore and battered from all of the events of the day, but he returned the embrace wholeheartedly. She was hugging like he would disappear the moment she let go. It didn't last long however, as she pushed him away and slapped the living daylights out of him. "What the hell were you thinking!?" she scolded.

"I—er—uh—thought that-you know…" He fumbled with the words.

"No I don't know! Don't go doing stupid things like that again do you understand me!?" As mad as Thalia seemed to be at him, Gray couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you laughing? It's not funny Gray!" She said with her hands on her hips.

"So I take it that you want to travel together then?" He dodged the question.

"I—uh—yeah—hey! That's not what is not important right now! Ugh! Whatever! I'm still mad at you." She turned her back to him and pouted. Deep down, she was fighting the blush that was fighting to make itself known and was happy to have Gray back. For reasons she still could not explain, everything felt better when he was around.

 _"_ _Huh. She's cute when she's angry. Woah! Where did that come from?"_ Thankfully, she was turned away from him and couldn't see the blush that had adorned his face. Shaking his head, he moved toward her and scooped her up bridal style.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing? Put me down! I have two legs of my own!" She protested, although she wasn't entirely against her current position. Still, she couldn't let him off the hook that easy. He still had to answer for making her worry so much.

"Be mad at me all you want, you've still got a bad ankle and we need to find a place to set up camp before the creatures of the night or any other maniacs decide to come after us. I'll put you down once we are safe." He told the struggling girl.

"Fine. I still hate you." She tried to maintain her angered look, but was failing miserably, something that Gray watched in amusement.

 _"_ _Maybe things aren't gonna be so bad here after all."_ He thought as he readjusted her so that she was more comfortable to carry. "Sure you do." He answered with a smile before setting off to find a place to hunker down for the night.

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

"Red, he's awakened. I don't think he knows it yet, but the serum is inside of him. He's departing the factory with a girl and heading back into town. Would you like me to deal with him?" Said a figure watching from a distance.

"No, leave him be for now. Right now we have more important matters to attend to. As long as he doesn't learn of his awakening we needn't worry about him. If push comes to shove, I'll have Five deal with him. Anyways, what of Rogue?" The nefarious leader's voice crackled over the Pip-Radio.

"He's here with me, although he's looking pretty worse for wear. The vault dweller really did a number on him. When I get back to base I'll do what I can to heal his injuries. Despite my talents, our bounty hunter will be out of commission for quite some time." The mysterious man reported.

"How unfortunate. Regardless, that is the fault of the fool for underestimating our opponent. Still, we can't afford to waste any more time. I'll dispatch a Vertibird for pick-up. When you return to base I will brief you on the next step in realizing our plans."

"Understood. Moving to the rendezvous point. If you can sir, could you please tell Seraphim that we are wrapping things up here? I've had trouble keeping communications up with her. Wouldn't want to leave her behind now." The man asked.

"Will do Cain. Red out." As the radio signal cut off, Cain scooped up Rogue and took one last look over to where he last saw Gray and Thalia depart.

"One day, you and I will cross paths. I can feel it. Until then, don't get yourself killed… Gray Celthric." The Canonical Five's second in command said as he turned to leave for his exfiltration point.

 ** _Somewhere else in the Wasteland…_**

 _"_ _Damn him! How could he have achieved his awakening already!? Not even Cain accomplished such a feat. I may be making a mistake in cutting him loose, but I don't have much of an option right now. With Rogue out of commission, I'm going to need everyone else on board to enact the next stage of our plans."_ Red slammed his fist on his desk, obliterating it into nothing but splinters. _"_ _Gray Celthric… already turning out to be a thorn in my side. I don't know how the resistance managed to steal the serum from right under our noses, but I'll soon make those bastards pay, but first… Pandemonium. After that, there'll be no place for any of my enemies to hide. Everyone will pay for what they did to us… everyone. That I swear to you Blue…"_ The leader of the Canonical Five vowed silently. Walking over to his window he gazed out into everything that was below him. The people of the virtual world were nothing but ants to him, as his mega fortress pierced the sky itself. He took a swig from a nearby wine bottle and watched the people of the city below fumble around in the markets. _"_ _Soon."_ He thought. Soon. Pressing a button on a wall, Red spoke into a speaker. "Five!" he called.

"Yes?" answered a feminine voice.

"Enact Protocol Eight. It's time for Heaven's Divide."

 ** _A/N:_** And that ends Chapter 4. Protocol Eight? Heaven's Divide? Canonical Five? Serums? Things are swinging into motion people! SWINGIN'! Sorry for the long wait, I really struggled writing this chapter. Literally wrote this chapter four different times all with different scenarios. Just couldn't find anything that fit the bill until this, but now that I actually have a plan set in motion I feel that things will go a lot smoother from here on out. So before I continue… REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!

 ** _Guest:_** It does sound silly I know. It's just what came to me at the time and I thought it fit the bill. If I come up with a better name then I'll use that one, but for now Gray is the lone savior! Unless you know… you maybe have a suggestion?

 ** _The world traveler:_** Well, I introduced the five antagonists… and they are all human. Don't worry though, their armies will consist of synths, deathclaws, raiders, and plenty of other things that I am not going to disclose just yet! As for the leveling system, I'm not really sure myself how I am going to implement that. I want to, but I don't really know if it has much of a place. The perks might but levels I dunno. I'm open to suggestions, so if you have any I'm all ears! Thanks for the review and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story!

 ** _Rc48177:_** I'd be wary too. I kind of just went all out on the beginning there… still glad you are coming around! Hope that you continue to enjoy and I thank you for your review!

 ** _MaxGentlman1:_** 1.) Indeed it did. Very quickly. 2.) Thank you. 3.) Glad you are enjoying the story and I'd like to thank you for submitting an OC! Expect to see him within the next update or two! Also, noted. I tried to break up my paragraphs more in this chapter. Let me know how I did. Thank you for your many reviews and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story!

That's all of them! Wooo! So Wastelanders, I really don't have much else to say, except for that you should all go check out PortalSpartan and his very own crossover fic of Fallout and SAO! He's just starting out so take it easy and be sure to leave him your feedback and/or ideas! Other than that I really don't have much else to say… so as always if any of you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns please feel free to leave a review or PM me. Until next time, Frosty out!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own _**Fallout or any of its characters, nor do I own Sword Art Online or any of its characters! I do claim ownership of these characters and story though!**_

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

Chapter 5: The Fifth Night

 _ **November 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 2014**_

It was a bright and sunny day, filled with lively smiles and good cheer. Everyone at the orphanage was in a good mood, after all it was _her_ birthday. Games were played and fun was had amongst the children, except for one. The newest addition to the family of children without a place to call their own. His name was Travis Redford, a small, eight-year old boy who preferred a scowl to a smile with messy black hair and equally dark eyes. He never really got along with anyone, nor did he care to. His parents were a joke, opting to spend money on their next fix of drugs then buy their son much needed clothes.

" _They're gone now."_ He thought with relief. _"Still stuck here though."_ The boy went back to his usual brooding self as kids around him danced and sang happy birthday to the orphanage's most popular member, Katrina Alfina. A girl with rosy cheeks, a soft smile, sparkly blue eyes full of life, and beautiful long brown hair that had to be made of silk. How else would anyone explain its shine and touch?

"Thank you everyone!" The recently turned nine-year old chimed as the kids finished their song. Her gaze fell on the lone Travis and she felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She knew better than anyone else what being lonely felt like. _"I'm going to talk to him."_ She decided. As far as she understood, everyone could use a friend. She definitely would've wanted one back _then…_ but now that she had plenty of them, she vowed that she'd be a friend to anyone who needed one.

As soon as the other kids scrambled off to play another game with Mrs. Mercado, Katrina bravely made her way over to Travis. She came to a stop just behind him, but he didn't seem to notice her presence. Whether that was because he was ignoring her or that he really didn't know she was behind him was anyone's guess, but nonetheless Katrina was going to follow through on her mission. "Umm, hey there." She bent down to her right to get a better look at his face. He had a scar that ran diagonally over his nose and his expression almost made her rethink her decision to approach him. With a grunt he responded dismissively:

"What do you want? Can't you see that I'd rather be left alone?" He waved a hand at her to go away, but the girl refused to budge.

"I was just wondering why you were all by yourself. Don't you want to make friends?" She asked innocently.

"Why do you care?" He turned around suddenly, eyes full of rage. "Is Miss Popular upset that someone doesn't want to be her friend?" he snarled. The tone he was using against her was surprising to say the least. Usually she got along with everyone and she was positive that she hadn't said anything to upset the new kid.

"I'm sorry, I just—" she began.

"Don't, you're just wasting your time. I don't want your apology." Travis said a little louder than he intended, garnering the attention of the entire room. "People like you make me sick. You always have to push your happiness on everyone else. Well I got news for you, maybe no one wants your stupid happiness so why don't you mind your damn business!"

"Travis!" Mrs. Mercado yelled. Everyone else was stunned by the new kid's sudden outburst against one of the nicest and most well-liked members of the orphanage. Gritting his teeth, he spun around and walked towards the exit. Hand on the door knob, Travis turned and faced the crowd once more.

"You're all idiots." He spat before pulling on the door handle and leaving the room quickly.

"Travis! Get back here!" Mrs. Mercado called as she sped off after him. As soon as she left all of the other kids started whispering amongst each other about what they thought of the new kid.

"What a jerk."

"He's such a weirdo."

"He's never going to make any friends."

"I sure hope his room isn't next to mine!"

Suddenly a door on the opposing end of the room opened up and in walked a figure that was much older compared to everyone else in the area. "That's enough!" the elderly woman scolded. The kids in the room all fell silent and dared not utter another word for fear of their Granny's wrath.

"But Granny… he was being mean to Katrina!" One of the kids argued their case, but she would have none of it.

"So you're going to be mean to him then? Tell me children, what good does that do you? I'll tell you that for one thing, you aren't making things any better. If you act just as mean as he did, then how do you ever expect him to be nice to you?" She reasoned with the young ones.

"I don't get it Granny! Why do we have to be nice to mean people?" Another kid whined in disagreement.

"Because child, it is the proper thing to do. By feeding into the hate, you only keep the cycle going. I know that it may be hard to do at first, but trust me he'll come around eventually." After she finished with her mini-lecture, she let the kids groan amongst themselves while she approached the stunned form of Katrina. "Tell me, what bothers you so?" she asked as she put a comforting hand on the child's shoulder.

The sudden contact brought Katrina out of her stupor and back to reality. "I don't know Granny, I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to make him feel like part of the family… but he just yelled at me. I didn't mean to make him angry Granny. I just thought that he could use a friend." She answered truthfully. His actions had completely boggled her mind, because if she were in his position she would have been thankful that someone took the time to notice her. _"Why would anyone ever want to be alone?"_ She thought to herself.

"Do not feel so upset with yourself young one. Travis… he's had it a little rough. You did the right thing, but right now he's just not open to meeting other people. Don't worry too much though my dear, when the time is right he will open up to everyone. All you can do for now is to keep trying. He'll come around when he is ready." The elderly woman consoled her.

Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders, Katrina wrapped her arms around Granny's waist and thanked her for the advice. The woman smiled and patted her on the head before departing to speak to the other kids in the room. Knowing now that she did no wrong, Katrina vowed that she'd do everything in her power to befriend Travis Redford, even if it took her a million tries. _"This is a promise!"_ She said to herself. And Katrina Alfina was never one to go back on her word.

 _ **The world of Fallout: Online…**_

After their escape from the destruction of the raider hideout and the wrath of Rogue, Thalia and Gray had set up shop in an abandoned apartment about half a mile away from Cydonia. The room they'd chosen was on the second floor of the four story building. Gray had taken the extra precaution of getting a room with a fire escape in case they needed to make a quick getaway. The apartment itself wasn't all that luxurious, having only the basic necessities like a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. The wallpaper had long since faded and some areas of the carpet were ripped apart. Gray had done a lot of the tidying up, going as far to remove bone piles from the different pieces of furniture of the apartment with Thalia helping out as best as she could.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had really injured her ankle badly in their escape. It frustrated her that she was always having to be looked after and felt more like a burden than she did helpful. So she vowed to do whatever she could to help, even if Gray told her to sit down and rest.

"You know, I can take care of this myself. You really shouldn't be walking around on that leg of yours. Just relax and get some rest." He said after hearing her wince for the umpteenth time. Even though he was somewhat right, she just couldn't bring herself to sit still anymore.

"And what? Let you have all the fun?" She shot back, earning a laugh from him.

"If this is your idea of fun—" he started.

"Put a sock in it!" She interrupted as she threw a wadded up shirt at him. He caught her projectile with relative ease and folded it neatly before tossing it on the bed. A toothy grin was plastered on his face the whole time. The look both irritated and lightened her sour mood. It irritated her because she knew deep down that he had a point, but it also helped her to smile as she realized that if she was still with Brett, things would be much different.

"Fine, since you want to be so stubborn, come here." He said, grabbing a spare black t-shirt they'd found in one of the closets.

"Why? I don't trust that look in your eye." She remarked with her arms crossed.

"Oh will you stop being so dramatic and come over here already? I'm trying to help you." He said in the same light-hearted tone he'd used with her for as long as they'd been traveling together. Unable to argue her point any further, Thalia gently made her way over to the edge of the bed. Gray patted the spot next to him and motioned for her to sit down. A small blush crept up on her cheeks, but she did as she was told. The green-eyed beauty dared not make eye contact with him and instead kept her gaze fixed on the wall at the end of the room.

"Alright, now what?" She said a little shakily. Gray's answer came in the sound of a cloth tearing, as he tore the black t-shirt they recovered into several strands. Rising up off the bed, Gray walked around so that he was directly facing Thalia and squatted down.

"Let me see your foot." He ordered.

"Why?" She asked, a hint of embarrassment present in her voice.

"Just trust me okay?" he answered, prompting Thalia to raise her foot slightly for him. Grabbing behind her knee, Gray gently raised her foot onto his own knee and examined her sprained ankle to make sure nothing else was wrong with it. After a few seconds, he grabbed the t-shirt that he'd torn up a few moments ago and ripped off three long strands. "This might hurt a little bit at first, but I promise that you'll feel better afterwards. If the pain is too much just let me know and I'll stop, okay? Let me know when you are ready." He said as he prepared the three strands.

"I'm ready." She said confidently. Having received the go ahead from her, Gray began to tightly wrap her sprained ankle with careful precision. Thalia winced a couple of times but fought through the pain nonetheless. The process didn't take very long and just like he'd said, her ankle felt better than it did before but the pain hadn't completely gone away. Checking her limb condition on her Pip-Boy screen, she saw that her ankle was in a much better state then it was previously.

"Try not to walk on it too much. That should help speed up the recovery process." He advised while storing the remaining useful pieces of cloth in his Pip-Boy's miscellaneous inventory section.

"Where did you learn to do this? Is it a skill?" Thalia asked in awe as she admired her makeshift ankle brace. Gray was proving to be far more capable than what she'd originally thought when she and Brett had first stumbled upon him. She was beginning to wonder what else he'd had hidden up his sleeve.

"I guess you can say it is something like that. See, my parents have always traveled a lot and I was usually on my own for the most part. Since I didn't have them to take care of me, I had to learn how to look after myself. Basic first-aid was one of the first things I picked up on because well, when you are a kid in a house without adult supervision, you tend to do some pretty crazy things." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the memories of his childhood came flooding back.

"Sounds like a charmed life." She said as she fell back on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable compared to her real life bed. Guess the virtual world had its perks too!

"Mmm, I wouldn't say that. I mean at times it was fun, but sometimes I just wanted to spend some time with my parents you know? Things just got lonely and I didn't really know how to talk to people. I used to be really shy and it was really bad too. I don't know, I guess it had its ups and downs." He answered while he plopped down on the couch.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but hey, you turned out okay in my book if that means anything." Thalia said from her position on the bed.

"Just okay then?" He said with a slight laugh. "Well for what it's worth, thanks. Anyways, enough about me, let's talk about you. What's your story?" Gray asked, adjusting himself so that he was comfortable.

"My story?" Thalia paused as she thought about where to begin. "Ah, well my mom passed away when I was really young, leaving behind just me and my dad. He took up two jobs to pay the bills and when he was away I'd spend a lot of my days with my grandparents. Every Friday dad and me would go out to eat and stuff and every Saturday night we'd come home and I'd watch him play videogames. From there I guess I kind of picked up on his habits and eventually we'd spend Saturday nights playing against each other for hours, trying to see who was the better gamer. It was nice." Her eyes had drifted to the ceiling, as the memories of days long since passed flittered throughout her mind.

"Sorry about your mom. That's terrible." Gray said.

"It's fine. I wasn't really old enough to know her or anything. Sometimes I wonder what she was like, dad told me she was practically the life of the party. He also said she was a strong woman, but gentle too. I dunno, I guess she isn't completely gone though. My dad said I have her eyes and smile, something about her living on within me. Silly right?"

"Not at all. I mean we all kind of carry certain traits of our parents, whether they be physical or spiritual. Like I got my mom's eyes and my dad's sense of humor. Bad examples I know, but then again I hardly knew my folks."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Well, I'm happy to know that the woman that gave birth to me was a good one and not like the one I have to live with now." She remarked quietly.

"What do you mean? If you don't mind me asking of course." He asked, surprising her. She didn't think she'd said that loud enough for him to hear.

"I don't mind." She answered. Thalia brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, taking a moment to gather her composure. "Remember how I said my dad and I used to play videogames and stuff?" She turned her attention towards Gray. When he nodded his head, she continued with her story. "Well, that kind of stopped after my dad met this one woman, Tracie. At first she seemed to be real nice, buying me toys and hanging out with me and my dad on the weekends. It wasn't until later that I realized she was just a cold-hearted bitch who wanted my dad's money. In working two jobs, my dad had worked hard enough to amass a small fortune. Eventually, his first job gave him this big promotion and we were pretty much set. Everything was going great for us and Tracie seemed like she was going to be my new mom. I had this hope that we'd become a happy and normal family. Thinking about it now, I realize how stupid it was for me to think something like that." A set of tears had broken free from her emerald-green eyes and sailed down her cheeks.

Gray had risen from his seat and moved over to Thalia to try and comfort her. He'd placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He said.

"No it's fine." She replied as she wiped the trail of tears from her eyes. "See, Tracie and my dad ended up getting married and that's when things got ugly. I figured out that she was stealing money from my dad and I tried to warn him but he wouldn't believe me. He kept taking her on these fancy trips around the world and I started to see him less and less. I tried to find proof to show my dad that I was telling the truth, but she was really good at covering her tracks. Eventually my dad came back with the Virtual Gear and a promise that we'd play together after he took Tracie to some business meeting he had in New Orleans. As you can see, the plan really didn't work-out and now I'm stuck here while that bitch milks my dad for the rest of his money." She huffed in defeat.

"That blows. No matter though, she'll get what's coming to her." Gray said.

"You say that so confidently. What makes you so sure?" Thalia asked in genuine interest. She didn't know why she'd told him so much, maybe it was because he was so easy to talk to. Or it was because she needed to vent after all the craziness that she'd been through recently.

"Just am." He answered simply, while rifling through some of the cabinets. She watched him curiously, trying to get a read on him. A question had been lingering in her mind ever since he'd saved her back in the raider hideout and she was looking for anything that might give her an answer. After figuring that she was still without an answer, she decided now was the time to cash in on his promise.

"Gray?"

"Yeah, what's up?" he replied.

"Why did you save me?" She asked softly.

"Say again?" Gray questioned, cupping his hand over his ear.

"Why did you save me, you know back in the raider hideout? After what Brett and I did to you—wouldn't it have just been better for you to leave me to die? I mean, don't you think I deserved it?" She asked. There was a long pause as Gray suddenly stopped moving and stood still. For a moment, Thalia had thought she'd touched on a sore subject and that he wasn't going to answer. Just when she was about to change the conversation, he spoke up:

"No… I didn't." He answered in a darker tone than usual. Despite the change in atmosphere, Thalia pressed on:

"But why? We basically sold you out! Why would you risk your life for me? Weren't you scared that I'd sell you out again?

"Because…because I would have to live with the fact that I let something terrible happen to someone when I could have done something to stop it." He continued in the grave tone. "I already made that mistake once. A girl…an innocent girl…died because of my actions…" he paused, "…Not a day has gone by in this accursed game that I haven't thought about her, about how things could have been different if I hadn't been such an idiot. Maybe she'd be alive or maybe I would have died along with her. I don't know. Still, when I saw you, I guess in a way you reminded me of her… and regardless of what you did to me, I couldn't just leave you in that position."

"I see. I'm sorry about your friend. I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine. There's no need to apologize Thalia. You didn't do anything wrong." He interrupted, returning to his usual tone.

"Okay then, just one last question." She chimed while maneuvering herself to sit in the crisscross-applesauce position.

"Shoot." He said as he started to organize some of the things he collected.

"What's with the eyepatch? Did something happen to your eye?"

Again there was a slight pause, but it wasn't nearly as long as the first time. "After that girl died—the guy who shot her, he threw a bottle at me and shot it. One of the glass shards slashed open my eye and the bullet itself hit my leg. So, now I only have one eye." He explained.

"Ouch, that's totally different from why I thought you were wearing it. I figured you were trying to look cool or something, but—jeez you really had it rough. Say, Gray can I see it?"

"Huh?" he said in confusion.

"Your eye, I want to see it."

"Why?" He asked. Gray hadn't even had the guts to look over the damage done to his eye, so when Thalia had asked to see the wound herself he was taken aback. It wasn't something that he just wanted to show people either. That scar served as both a painful memory as well as a lesson about how even in the virtual world, his choices had consequences. He subconsciously raised a hand over it, trying to shield it from her view, like it was an embarrassing childhood photo no one could see.

"If you don't want to I understand. I just wanted to see what kind of damage was done and if we can do anything to fix it. Don't worry about it Gray." She said after seeing his reaction. Her emerald green eyes shifted away from him and down onto the floor. _"Nice going dummy! Now you just made things awkward!"_ she berated herself. She continued to keep her gaze glued to the floor until Gray's voice broke her free from her thoughts.

"Thalia." He called.

"Yes?" She answered as she turned to see him. When she finally realized what he was about to do she quickly put her hands up and began to protest, "No, Gray it's fine, really. You don't have to—" her sentence came to late however, as the eyepatch fell to the floor. The girl was rendered in a state of total disbelief, unable to say or do anything. She didn't mean to stare, but she couldn't help it. What she was looking at was completely unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was _unnatural._

"Is it that bad?" Gray said after the uneasy silence that followed after he unveiled his eye. Aside from the slight embarrassment of revealing the scar, he had this weird feeling that he couldn't explain.

"I—uh—don't know how to tell you this—but—er—Gray your eye—the scar is there and everything—but the—uh—eye itself is _still there._ "

 _Still there…_

 _Still there…_

 _Still there…_

The words echoed in his head over and over again. _"It's still there!? But how!?"_ his thoughts raced to find an explanation for the phenomenon. "There's no way…" he said before turning and heading into the bathroom to see if Thalia was telling the truth. Looking into what remained of the mirror, he found Thalia's claims to be true except for one major detail. The sclera of his eye was completely black like an empty void, save for a dark blue ring that was his iris. The ring itself was separated into two halves, top and bottom and had a mysterious glow to it. _"What the hell!?"_

Thalia had followed after him, catching him staring at his reflection in total shock. He raised his hands to the air and realized why he'd felt so weird earlier. _"I can still see with both eyes… but why is my eye like this? It's like that guy Rogue's…there's no way…am I…like him?"_ He connected the dots. Then, out of the blue his head began to throb and there was a sharp pain coming from his eye. He cried out in agony and fell back against the wall.

"Gray!" Thalia called out as she tried to figure out what was wrong with him.

The Lone Savior put a hand over his left eye, trying to suppress the pain coming from it. It felt like the day the shard had sliced it open. Even though it wasn't there, he could feel his blood drenching his hands, coating them a dastardly shade of red. Someone was calling his name, someone he knew, but all he could focus on was the pain.

 _Hello?_

 _Where am I?_

 _Can anyone hear me?_

As the line between reality and unconsciousness began to blur, Gray could have sworn that someone was talking to him from inside his head. "No…that's impossible…" he mumbled as he struggled to keep his eyes open. _"The pain… it hurts so much…"_

"What's impossible!? Gray! Answer me! Gray! GRAY!" Thalia's screams pierced the air, but it was too late as he'd already slipped into darkness.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"Ugghhhhh! Why does this tech stuff all have to be so damn complicated!?" Alyson raged. Slamming her hands on the desk, she watched as different combinations of 0's and 1's danced on Gray's tri-monitor set-up. "It's going to be impossible to get into this server at this rate!" she complained. She watched the screen for a few more minutes before deciding to fish through her backpack for the book the Programming Prodigies had given her. Laying it on top of the desk she left the room to take a break.

Wandering into the hallways of the Celthric residence, Alyson soon found herself in the kitchen grabbing one of Gray's favorite beverages. "Never understood why he liked this stuff so much." She commented as she examined the carbonated lemon-lime soft drink. Popping the cap, she guzzled down the ice cold drink and tossed it casually into the trash. "Not bad."

For three days she had been trying to apply the knowledge that she'd picked up on to break into the server that held Gray and a million others hostage with no luck. She'd tried creating a mod to implement into the game, but it was instantly rejected by the game. Next, Alyson tried her hand at hacking but given her lack of experience she didn't really get far. Shrugging her shoulders, she threw herself down on the couch in the living room and let out an exasperated breath.

" _This sucks. I haven't made any progress in getting my best friend back. Looks like I still don't know enough to bust him out just yet. On the bright side, his vitals are all good which means he's doing okay for himself."_ Kicking her feet in the air, Alyson began brainstorming more ideas about how she was going to infiltrate the server. The longer she thought the more things started to become confusing, prompting her to put an end to her brainstorming session.

At the end she only found that she was left with a ton of unanswered questions and practically no solutions. _"Why?"_ the question of all questions. Finding the answer to the infamous looping question would surely put an end to her problems, but that was easier said then done. She had no clue why a terrorist organization would hijack a virtual MMORPG and hold all of the players hostage. In all of the news coverage there was no word of a ransom or even a motive for that matter. Whoever had trapped Gray and everyone else was just evil.

That was the only explanation that Alyson could wrap her head around, but even then she still found herself asking, "why?". _After all, how could anyone be so heartless? What kind of sick twisted game are they trying to play? What do they want? They have to want something, RIGHT!?_

 _But… what if they don't want anything? What if THEY really were that evil?_

And thus, Alyson discoveredhumanity's greatest fear, the unknown. A world free of reason. A place where the question "why?", literally has no end. A chasm of darkness that rejects everything that she ever knew. When faced with this, she couldn't help but question how she was going to get Gray back when she didn't know the first thing about her enemy.

 _She couldn't._

It is what made them the perfect terrorist group. They were untouchable. No one knew a single thing about the people involved in the attack or why they decided to overtake the most anticipated game of the year. They operated on their own agenda away from the eyes of the world, forcing everyone to come at them without direction.

 _Then what could she do?_

Everything?

Or…

Nothing?

…

Night had fallen in the world of Fallout: Online and the creatures of the dark emerged from their daytime slumber. Ghouls marched forth from the sewers and stalked the streets ravenously. Super Mutants wandered in packs, pillaging whatever they could from the wasteland. Those that didn't keep their wit about them would either find themselves in a gore bag or worse, in the bellies of feral ghouls.

In the darkness of the night, the virtual world had suddenly become three times as dangerous as reality. Ironic, given that this world was meant to serve as an escape for those who wanted to get away from the perils of the real world. Now their fantasies had become their worst nightmares and suddenly, the real world was something that these players wanted to return to.

For Gray and Thalia, that meant surviving the Fifth Night of the wasteland, a night that marked the end of the handicap period. After Heaven's Divide was enacted, the restrictions placed on the game's server were lifted unleashing hordes of mutations and raiders upon the unsuspecting players of the Grand Wasteland. The game had finally begun.

…

Gray awoke to find himself covered in sweat and in the dead of night. His breathing was rather irregular and his heart was racing for reasons he had yet to understand. After calming down some, Gray realized that he'd been moved from the bathroom where he was last conscious and to the bed. Thalia had fallen asleep on a chair next to him and had rested her head on the bed.He smiled softly, silently thanking her for looking after him. Not wanting to wake her, Gray gently slipped off of the bed and walked over to the bathroom.

Flicking on the light, he took another look at his rejuvenated eye. This time however, he found his eye was not the synthetic looking one that he saw earlier, but rather his normal one. Raising his hand to cover his right eye, Gray found that he could see perfectly, perhaps even better than he did before. He continued to marvel at the medical mystery until he heard the creaking of a floorboard. Turning to the direction of the sound, he was greeted to the sight of Thalia in the doorway.

"You're awake." She noted before yawning. Propping herself against the doorframe, Thalia continued, "You feeling any better? Gave me quite the scare earlier."

"Sorry about that." Gray apologized.

"No need to apologize to me. I'd be pretty freaked out too if my eye had suddenly grown back and looked all funky like yours did. Still, it looks pretty normal now, so does that mean you are feeling better?" She asked again, genuine concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks Thalia, for looking after me." He said with a slight blush.

"You don't need to thank me Gray. If anything I owe you for all the help you've given me lately. Besides we're partners now aren't we? Isn't looking after one another something that we are supposed to do?" She smiled at him.

Gray had to take a moment to process Thalia's words. _"Partners?"_ he thought. Sure they were traveling together now, but Gray didn't think that their relationship was actually going to last. Although he had yet to say anything, Gray was happy that Thalia saw him as a traveling companion. For the first time since leaving the vault he didn't have to be alone anymore. "Yeah, for sure." He finally answered, earning another smile from the green-eyed beauty.

"Cool! Then I guess we should make it official then!" She cheered. Raising her Pip-Boy, Thalia turned the dial a few times and tapped on the miniature computerize screen to confirm her message.

"What are you…" Gray began, but was interrupted as his Pip-Boy hummed gently. "Huh?" he said, raising the screen to his face to investigate the disturbance. He recognized the Vault-Boy character as he danced in front of the screen before reaching into his jumpsuit to pull out a small little envelope. The animated character then tore the envelope open and produced a small note that he held up in front of the whole screen.

The message read, _"Greetings Wastelander! You have been invited to join a party by a player! Would you like to join?"_ that was followed by a yes and no. Gray tapped on the yes button, prompting Vault-Boy to pull the note back into his jumpsuit where he flashed two thumbs up before comically dashing off the screen. _"These animations are great."_ Gray thought as Thalia's HP bar appeared below his as well as a new tab labeled "companions." He cycled to the new tab and found that he could check on Thalia's status and limb conditions, as well as trade and message her directly among other things. It even marked her location on the map! "Sweet." Gray remarked as he familiarized himself with the rest of the features.

"Yeah, I thought it was pretty awesome too when I first learned about it." She said. Before Gray could say anything in reply, the duo heard a loud crashing sound and gunshots from outside. "Well that can't be good." Thalia remarked as she followed behind Gray.

From the bedroom window, Gray's eyes scanned the street below with the attentiveness of a hawk. It didn't take long for him to spot the source of the gunshots. From what he could see, the player was muscular and had unkempt messy black hair. He was wearing a blue button up shirt, brown pants, and black boots. Ghouls were running at the player from all directions and the player was slowly backing himself into a corner. "We've got to help him." Gray muttered as he started to lift the window. Before he could get it up all the way, Thalia held the window down in protest. "What are you doing?" Gray asked in frustration.

"Keeping us alive Gray! Do you not see how many of those things are down there?" She argued.

"I don't care! He needs our help!" Gray countered as he started to get the upper hand on the window.

"Why do you insist on doing this? Don't take this the wrong way Gray but in this place it is survival of the fittest. Now, I don't like the thought of leaving that guy out there on his own, but that's just the way it is. By going out there you are putting us at risk!" She said just as she lost the battle on the window.

"Stay up here if you want to Thalia, but I'm going to go down there and help him." He said is he leapt onto the fire escape and descended the stairs.

She called out to him, but with no success. He'd made up his mind and now whether she liked it or not, they were going to be in for a heap for trouble. "The idiot! It's bad enough that we are already outnumbered and he goes out there without a weapon!" Cursing underneath her breath, Thalia retrieved the pipe pistol from the nightstand next to the bed and followed after Gray. Descending the fire escape, she stopped just behind Gray who had just managed to get the ladder down.

"Glad you decided to join us." He said with a smirk.

"Oh can-it dork. You don't stand a chance without me." She shot back with a sly smile. Sure, she didn't agree with his decision but, she did say that they were partners. "I'll do my best to try and cover you from here. Try not to get yourself killed okay?" She said as he began descending the ladder.

"You got it." He answered. When he'd finally hit the street level he breathed a small sigh of relief as the ghouls had yet to notice him. The player didn't seem to have noticed him either, but then again he was being ambushed by a horde of ghouls. Knowing that he didn't have a lot of time, Gray broke off into a sprint, determined to help someone else in need.

Thalia watched from her perch on the fire escape. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and her hold on the gun was hardly steady. She took a deep breath to try and regain her composure but with little luck. The gun was still shaky as ever and Gray was only a few steps away from the horde of ghouls. _"Come on, he's counting on you."_ She said to herself as she tried to combat her nervousness. Unfortunately for Thalia, she didn't have very much time to prepare as the ghouls turned their attention away from the teen firing the gun and onto Gray.

With a swing of his pipe, Gray bashed the skull of one feral ghoul inward, splattering brain matter everywhere. "Hey! We're here to help!" Gray called to the player with his back to the wall.

"We?" The player said in a rough voice. As if on queue, the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the streets. Unfortunately for the two players on the street, the shot failed to hit any of the ghouls on the street and instead landed dangerously close to the player with the gun.

"Holy shit! You trying to kill me!" he barked.

"Sorry!" he heard a feminine voice call from a distance. Shrugging off the near death experience, the player unloaded a few more rounds into the ghouls in front of him. A dull clicking sound alerted him that he was out of ammo and he quickly ejected the magazine to insert a fresh one. The 10mm pistol clicked and he took aim once more, placing two shots into the nearest ghoul's cranium.

"And another one bites the dust!" The player chimed as he set his sights on his next target. Just when he was about to end another ghoul's life, he heard the distinct snarl of one to his right. _"Shit."_ He thought as he tried to maneuver away, but the creature had him pinned. Latching onto his arm, the ghoul prepared to bite into his exposed flesh. Before it could however, Gray swooped in and smacked the ghoul away with a powerful overhead strike of his pipe. The ghoul crumpled to a lifeless heap on the street, only to be quickly replaced by another. "Thanks for that. The name's Ash."

"Nice to meet you Ash. I'm Gray." The duo found themselves back to back and in a corner. Thalia had succeeded in picking off two ghouls from her sniping point, but that wasn't nearly enough for them to make their escape.

"Things aren't looking so good on my end. You and your friend got a plan or something?" Ash remarked as he dropped two more ghouls on the left.

"Not really." Gray paused as he engaged another ghoul. His strike connected with the irradiated zombie's jaw, breaking it. The monster staggered back, allowing another to fill the gap. With little room to dodge, Gray raised his pipe in the nick of time to avoid having his face bitten off by his foe. The zombie's teeth clanked on the old pipe, denting it in the process. _"Damn! There's too many!"_ Gray thought as freed his pipe from the ghoul's mouth and killed it with a brutal swing.

"Shoot first and ask later huh? I like your style, but unfortunately it isn't going to do us much good here." Ash responded as he pistol whipped a ghoul who wandered too close. Thalia had succeeded in killing off four more ghouls but Gray knew that she was running low on ammo.

" _There's got to be a way out of this…"_ he racked his brain for a solution while he hammered away at ghoul after ghoul.

"Where are these bastards coming from!? It's like there is no end to them!" Ash remarked. The messy haired teen continued raining down bullets on the approaching ghouls but with little effect. It seemed like that for every one that they killed, another would take its place. Thalia's next three shots were off target and Gray's pipe wasn't going to hold out much longer. Things were beginning to look bad for them. _Really bad._

 _Click. Click._ "Uhh—Gray I'm out of ammo!" Ash yelled as he started whipping his pistol around to keep the nuclear zombies away. There was a loud _'thunk'_ that was followed by a _'clang'_ and then Ash knew that Gray was now as weaponless as he was. _"So this is the end of me then? I'm going to go out the same way…Linda… I'm sorry… I couldn't…"_ The sound of automatic gunfire broke Ash's train of thought as a hail of bullets mowed down the mob of ghouls surrounding him and Gray. His first reaction was to hit the deck but a ghoul that had escaped the barrage of bullets managed to tackle him into the wall. The mutation bit down on his shoulder and Ash cried out in pain as he felt its rotting teeth begin to dig into his skin. He tried to escape but to no avail, as the monster had him pinned.

Before the ghoul could do any real damage, Gray rose and blind-sided the ghoul with his whole body weight. The two tumbled over the leathery-like bodies of the fallen ghouls before collapsing right next to one another. Having been robbed of its meal, the zombie pounced on top of Gray and attempted to take at least one victim with it. Before it could however, one of Gray and Ash's mysterious saviors put a bullet in its brain. The creature's blood stained his face before falling limply on top of him. Disgusted, Gray pushed the corpse off of him and quickly rose to his feet.

Having learned his lesson with Brett he kept his guard up as the three gunman that saved them walked over. Ash clutched at his shoulder but, nonetheless stood side by side with Gray as they approached.

The three gunman all varied in size and wore the same uniform. Each of them had a motorcycle helmet that seemed to have been customized to their liking and what looked like motocross armor and gear to match. Once the trio was in range they sheathed their guns and took off their helmets. The one on the left was a girl with blonde-hair that she'd tied up in a bun at the back of her head and hazel eyes. Her skin was rather pale and her lips were pressed tightly together, like she was hesitant to speak. The one on the right looked more like a warrior with his fauxhawk hair and tattooed face. He bore no expression and seemed focused only on the pile of dead ghouls behind Gray and Ash. Of the three gunmen, the middle one was by far the most interesting. She had short pearl silver hair that fell just past her chin. Her bangs covered one of her icy blue eyes and her skin was of a fair color. Neither Gray or Ash could get a read on what she was thinking as her eyes scanned them over carefully and methodically.

"So, uh thanks, I guess." Gray finally said, breaking the silence. His sudden outburst seemed to have broken the silver-haired girl's concentration causing her to return her gaze to his fierce brown orbs. From them she saw that he was genuinely grateful for their help, but he was also ready to act should she and her group try anything. His eyes practically screamed, _"Try anything and you'll be sorry."_ something that almost made her giggle. _Almost._ _"I think this kid has what it takes. As a matter of fact, I think they would all do nicely…"_ She thought to herself. Seemingly aware of their silver-haired friend's thoughts, the duo stepped forward to express their disagreement, but with a simple raise of her hand the two stepped back into formation.

Gray, Ash, and Thalia all watched the spectacle in amazement. The one with the silver-hair appeared to be in complete control of the group. Still, neither of them dared to let their guard down around this group because if they dead, then surely they'd end up dead.

"No problem." Came the calculated reply of the silver haired leader. An awkward silence soon followed, as the tension between the two groups continued to rise. Knowing confrontation would surely lead to their deaths, Gray chose to handle the situation as carefully as possible.

"Well, thanks again. We'll be on our way now." Gray responded as he motioned for Ash to follow after him.

"Not so fast." The silver-haired girl said before the duo could take their first step. "Did you really just expect to walk away like that? Surely you must know how things work in the Grand Wasteland." She continued in her calm and confident tone. Gray grit his teeth and cursed beneath his breath. He should've figured that things wouldn't have gone smoothly. She had them right where she wanted them, and there wasn't a damn thing they could do about it.

"Can't say that I do. Care to enlighten us then?" Gray responded in the same tone that she had used with them. The silver-haired girl smiled smugly, delighted that someone finally had the balls to challenge her, especially when they had to have known they were outclassed.

"Sure, as soon as you tell your friend on her perch over there to lower her weapon. After all, I'm sure you aren't so stupid as to engage us in your current state now are you? Besides, I wouldn't want things to get ugly now." She replied with her hands on her hips.

Peeved that she was right, Gray signaled for Thalia to stand down. The girl didn't look too happy about doing so, but did what Gray and the silver-haired wanted. Seeing no other reason to remain distant from the group, Thalia decided to join up with Gray and Ash.

When she finally arrived, the silver-haired girl resumed speaking. "Now that we are all here, we can discuss what we want in return for saving your lives."

"Now hold on lady, we didn't ask for your help. We don't owe you a damn thing!" Ash voiced his disagreement. The smug attitude that she used with them irritated him to no end. He despised the thought of owing someone like that anything, especially after seeing how Gray and the girl he was with didn't make any demands of him when they came to help.

Taking Ash's words as a threat, the male member of the gun squad raised his rifle and placed a finger on the trigger. In response Thalia raised her pipe-pistol and aimed it straight for the silver-haired girl which prompted the blonde haired girl to aim her gun at Thalia.

"You sure that's a good idea?" The silver-haired leader said with her hands raised in mock fear. "I mean, how many bullets do you have left? Surely you don't have enough to down all three of us. At best, you'll only have enough to put me at half health and then my friends here will have no choice but to mow you down where you stand."

Knowing that she couldn't do much with just three bullets, Thalia lowered her gun in defeat. The last thing she wanted was to let them have the last laugh, but it wasn't worth dying over.

"Smart move. Kota, take her weapon." The silver-haired girl ordered.

"Yes Rias." He answered simply and moved to do as he was told. Seeing an opportunity, Gray intercepted the muscular gunman, Kota and disarmed him before he knew what was happening. Ash moved to restrain the downed member of Rias' squad while Thalia raised her pistol again towards the blonde member of the opposing group. Gray had moved to the right of Rias and had the barrel of his rifle pressed up against her temple.

"Look, I don't know who the fuck you are or what it is that you want, but I'm tired of your stupid little game. Now, unless you want me to blow your brains out, I suggest you tell your little friend to stand down." Gray barked.

Having lost the upper hand, Rias knew better than to try anything funny. "Stand down Rachel." Rias said in her calm demeanor.

"But Rias!" She protested.

"Rachel! I said stand down!" Rias exclaimed, breaking character for the first time. The blonde did as she was ordered and lowered her rifle. "Alright, you got us where you want us now. What are your demands?" She said, returning to her calm and collected self. The tone bothered Gray, as he felt like they were conversing on equal ground. She was so confident, even when her life was clearly on the line.

"You let me and my friends go." Came Gray's response.

"And if I refuse?" She asked.

"Then I use this rifle and things get ugly." Gray answered, getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"Oh really? And how are you going to do that with the safety on?" Rias said with a smirk.

"What?" Gray said in confusion and before he could confirm Rias' words to be true, he found the rifle ripped from his grasp by the very girl that he had the upper hand on just a moment before. Ash had also lost his hold on Kota, who'd managed to throw his captor to the floor. Rachel also made a move and slapped Thalia's pistol away before holding her up with her assault rifle. In Gray's face was the barrel of a bullpup 44. magnum and a very happy looking Rias.

"I've gotta hand it to ya, you and your buddies here are the first people to ever catch me and my friends here by surprise. Under normal circumstances I would have killed the lot of you for pulling a stunt like that, but now I have an even better idea." Rias said, pressing the barrel of her revolver onto Gray's forehead.

"Say the word Rias and these kids are toast!" Rachel chimed with her finger on the trigger. Kota pressed his knee down harder on Ash's throat, further choking the life out of him.

"Kota, Rachel! Stand down!" Rias ordered as she sheathed her magnum.

"What? What in the hell for? We have these bastards right where we want them!" Rachel protested once more. Kota nodded his head in agreement, but moved off of Ash in spite of how he felt. Rachel did the same and put her rifle away, leaving Thalia, Ash, and Gray dumbfounded.

"I believe that my friends and I here got off on the wrong foot with you." Rias said, wrapping her arms around her comrades with a huge grin plastered on her face. "But, after spending a couple of days in this hellhole, I'm sure you guys can understand why we came off the way we did. Then again, the three of you didn't help the situation by pointing a gun at us…"

"Bullshit! Your friend there pointed his rifle first!" Ash interrupted.

"Fair point. Still there's no use in discussing the past now." Rias resumed.

"Just what do you guys want already? All this talk is pointless if you ask me." Thalia said, finally having lost her patience.

"What we want?" Rias restated the question. "Simple, we want you guys to join us!" She beamed.

"WHAT!?"

 _ **A/N:**_ _And there it is! Chapter 5! Whooooo! Now this story really has its gears turning! Before I continue in my rants… REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!_

 _ **Rc48177:**_ _Yes, interesting indeed…_

 _ **MaxGentlman1:**_ _Special shout-out for your OC submission! Unfortunately, I believe that my spacing is still going to be somewhat brickish… but I'm trying to tone it down a bit. Hopefully it isn't too bad though…anywho! Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story!_

 _ **The World Traveler:**_ _Oh yeah, that would have been a crazy twist huh? (Damn!) Lol just kidding. Anywho, thank you for your review! Hopefully you find this chapter to be to your liking!_

 _ **AKS-784:**_ _Glad you think the story is interesting! I'm still unsure of how I want to implement the leveling system exactly, but when I figure that out I will definitely use your suggestion! Also appreciate you lending a helping hand, and I'll be sure to keep that in mind if I happen to get stuck somewhere along the way! Thanks for reviewing!_

 _Think that does it for the reviews… NOW! I know it's been awhile since my last update and if you happen to follow my other story, you might know the reason why… now normally I'm not one for excuses but in this case I have to say guys… Math is really kicking my ass. So with that eating up a lot of my time I am not really focused on writing as much as I want to be. Still, I will do my best to try and get chapters up faster but I make no promises. Maybe I can make the chapters shorter or something… I dunno… lemme know what you guys think! I think that about wraps things up Wastelanders… so if any of you have any suggestions, questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review! Until next time Wastelanders, Frosty out!_


	6. Chapter 6: The Canonical Five

Disclaimer: I do not own _**Sword Art Online or Fallout or any of their characters! I do claim ownership of this story and its characters however!**_

Chapter 6: The Canonical Five

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

"You're joking right? You're doing this now?" Rogue voiced his disagreement and he seemed to have the backing of everyone else in the room. Despite this, Red seemed undeterred and kept his stoic expression set giving Rogue and everyone else the answer they sought.

"Sir, with all due respect I don't think now is the right time for…" Cain paused to find the words, "—er such matters. Surely you can understand that the preparations are nowhere near where we need them to be." He argued.

"Don't forget about the kid that managed to put Rogue out of commission either boss. Surely, he's going to be a pain in the ass if we don't deal with him now." A girl with violet eyes and long black hair said. Her facial features were smaller when compared to the average female making her appear childlike when coupled with her short stature and goofy grin.

"Shut up Five! No one asked you!" Rogue yelled, somewhat embarrassed of the mention of his failure at the hands of a complete newbie.

A cheeky grin had spread across Five's face as she realized that her outburst had caused Rogue discomfort. Teammate or not, she loved to make people uncomfortable, especially after everything that she'd been through. A chuckle escaped her lips as she met the heated bounty hunter's gaze with her own wild and bemused one. "Maybe if you had done your job like you were supposed to then maybe—no wait—I'm glad that what's his nuts kicked your ass. It's because of him that I get to see just how adorable you look when you're angry." She teased, clapping her hands to her cheeks and finishing with kissing noises.

"You want to run that by me again?" Rogue took on a venomous tone as several objects around the room started floating. If Five was the least bit intimidated, it would have been impossible to tell with the boisterous grin that was plastered on her face. If anything, she was enjoying the current situation.

"Oooo" she cooed. "Don't get me excited now!" she chimed as the shadows in the room suddenly started to move.

"Enough!" came a strong female voice. Red turned to see the third most powerful member of the team and his current flame. The beautiful Seraphim. Her dark blue hair fell just past her shoulders, complimenting her glossy blue eyes. She had this air of confidence about her and she rarely ever lost her composure. "You know Red, you could lay your foot down every once in a while." She said sarcastically.

"I didn't see the point this time around. Maybe they would have killed each other and ended everybody's suffering." He joked.

"Hey!" Rogue and Five shouted in unison. Deep down though, every person in that room knew that they could never kill each other. They were close, like a family. A family with a horrifying past that brought them all together and set them on the path that they were on now.

"Speaking of which, I finally got a name for our little posse here." Red teased as each of the members looked on, eagerly awaiting what kind of name they were going to be given. Rising from his seat at the center of the room, Red pushed a button to open up the shutters revealing the magnificent view his newly acquired floating fortress gave them.

Heaven's Divide, as it was called was a floating island that was somewhat similar to Akihiko Kayaba's Aincrad castle in Sword Art Online. Whether that was where Red had gotten the inspiration for his fortress was a mystery in itself, but Heaven's Divide served a very different purpose when compared to Aincrad. Red's fortress was in fact a massive weapon capable of destroying multiple cities at once if he so desired. Armed with a fully functional mass railgun, missile salvos, and its own set of nuclear warheads, Heaven's Divide was a means of controlling the world of Fallout: Online.

And it was all his. From his secluded fortress, Red could mobilize his personal army, strategize, and sleep comfortably knowing that there wasn't a damned soul in the game that could possibly compare to him. Everything was going according to his plan and he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"We are, The Canonical Five." He said as the sun's early morning rays penetrated the penthouse-like suite, bathing it in a brilliant orange glow. Each of member of Red's team then took their place behind him and marveled at the sight before them. Even in its arid and destroyed landscape, the Grand Wasteland held a certain beauty to it.

"The Canonical Five then? The name given to the victims of Jack the Ripper? Why?" Cain asked, interested as to why Red chose such an unusual name.

Smiling, Red turned his eyes away from the expanse that was the Wasteland and toward his right hand man. "Because Cain, we are the victims." He answered with a sad smile as both he and Cain remembered the road that had led them down this path.

"The Canonical Five." Cain repeated. "The shamed and bloodied corpses of Jack the Ripper. I get it now. The irony of it all. Only this time, we'll be the ones doing the shaming and blooding." Cain remarked.

"Precisely." Red answered as the rest of his team soon understood the significance behind their name and accepted it as well. Now that they were on the same page, Red stepped forward and prepared to set his next set of plans in motion. "Canonical Five! We've got work to do." He said as he left the room with the rest of them following closely behind.

" _Blue, we're one step closer…"_ Red thought as he led his team to a balcony overlooking the coast. "You all know what comes next and what your respective assignments are." He said above the roaring waves hundreds of feet below. "Now go!" he barked as they all dispersed with super-human like speed. After they had left he walked over to a small radio that he had sitting on the table. He clicked it on just as the Ink Spot's _It's All Over_ started to play. Leaning over the railing, he moved along to the slow and infamous beat while gazing out over the world that was soon to be his. Extending a hand out towards the coast, a small flame had suddenly kicked into existence into the palm of his hand. _"Soon… I will watch the world burn."_ He thought as he snuffed out the flame and left the railing as the radio that was playing the ominous apocalyptic tune turned to static.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"You heard me." Rias stated bluntly whilst maintaining her friendly grin. Rachel didn't look to happy about her decision however, and Kota looked unaffected by everything. Unwrapping her arms from around the necks of her comrades, Rias stepped forward with her hands now on her hips. Gray and company took a precautionary step backwards, still wary of the heavily-armed group in front of them. "You don't have any reason to be afraid. I promise I won't bite." Rias said jokingly.

"Yeah? Well I'm not taking any chances." Gray answered.

"Suit yourself then." Rias waved dismissively before returning to the topic at hand. "So, what is it going to be? Are you three going to take me up on my generous offer or are you going to let the Wasteland eat you alive?"

"We can handle ourselves. We never asked for your help nor did we need it lady. So stop acting so high and mighty like we owe you anything." Ash suddenly spoke out. Rias was surprised at the outburst and almost broke out into a laugh. Even the stoic Kota had a smile on his face and Rachel simply rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that they hadn't just left already.

"I'm sorry, but when we came up on you it really looked like you could use all the help that you could get." Rias pointed out. Ash didn't say anything else as he knew that she was right. If they hadn't helped out when they did, then he and the others would have ended up ghoul-chow. "Look, how about this?" Rias paused just as she was about to drum up another offer. "My friends and I here in a somewhat of a tight spot. You see—" she paused again, trying to find the words to explain their situation. "Alright, I'm just going to say it—we're on a mission. A manhunt really. So, since we helped you the least you could do is help us out. Then afterwards, if you happen to like the way we do things, join up with us and if not we go our separate ways."

After a slight pause Gray spoke up, "Who exactly are you after?" he said, still not taking the bait. Rias' eyebrows furrowed in response, like she was contemplating whether or not she should tell them who they were going after. Gray watched the group carefully, trying to find anything that would give them something to bargain with. _"A group as heavily armed as they are have to be going after someone dangerous. Maybe they were after that guy that me and Thalia ran into earlier…ah! What was his name!?"_ Gray fought to remember.

"We are after a slave trader." Rias finally said.

"A slave trader?" Ash asked in confusion.

"It's essentially human trafficking. These guys like put collars on people and sell them off as slaves to people for caps. It's horrible." Thalia answered, remembering her experience in her vault. Ash's eyes widened at the revelation, as he wondered how anyone could do such a thing. While he may not have been on board before, he was now as he thought of the scum that would commit such a horrific crime.

"Yes. So will you help us or not?" Rias asked. She crossed her arms and waited for the group to answer. Although she didn't show it, the silver-haired girl was starting to grow impatient. Still, despite how she was feeling she didn't voice her annoyance. She'd already gotten off on the wrong foot with them earlier and if she wanted their help she knew that she was going to have to play nice.

Thalia and Ash were pretty much on board with joining up with Rias and her team, but Gray was still hesitant. He felt like they couldn't be trusted and based on his overall experience in Fallout: Online there were not a lot of people he felt he could rely on. "That depends. You never answered my question. Who are you guys really after?"

Rias grunted mentally and sent an annoyed glare towards Gray. _"He's really starting to get on my nerves…"_ she thought as she sighed out loud. "You know, you sure do ask a lot of questions." She said with a small smile in an attempt to maintain character.

"Yeah, the Wasteland sort of does that to you. You never really know who you can trust." Gray said simply. "So are you going to tell us or not? The sooner you do the sooner we can work together."

Knowing that he had a solid point on the issue of trust, Rias decided she had no other choice but to tell them who they were after. She looked over towards Rachel and Kota, whom just shrugged their shoulders at her. Taking one last mental sigh Rias turned her attention back to Gray and spoke in a soft yet firm voice.

"His name is Brett. Brett Huntly." Rias stated. At the mention of his name, Thalia and Gray visibly froze up, something that did not go unnoticed by Rias. "I take it you two know him?" She said after seeing their reactions. Thalia didn't say anything. She found herself trembling in both rage and fear. As much as she hated him, she knew Brett better than anyone in their group. He may have appeared incompetent and even under-armed but she had the unfortunate privilege of seeing him in action firsthand. He was ruthless and cunning, a fact that Gray himself could attest to. He wasn't someone that you wanted to mess with.

"Yeah, something like that." Gray replied. The vague answer was enough for Rias to raise an eyebrow, as she wondered how this group had managed to come into contact with one of the more elusive slave traders and actually live to tell about it.

"Well do you know where he is or what?" Rachel finally spoke up clearly ready to take action. The blonde was starting to grow tired of all the conversation. She just wanted to shoot something already.

"Well, not exactly. The last time we saw him was—" Gray began.

"He's headed for Silverfort." Thalia interrupted, revealing what she knew of Brett's plans. "From what I gathered from when I was traveling with him, there is supposed to be a meeting of the big name slavers there. He said something about a big deal and tripling profits, but that's all I that I know." She finished.

Gray looked over to Thalia, shocked that she actually knew his plans. The girl in question only looked away, expecting Gray to be mad at her for withholding information like that from him. Seemingly able to read her mind, Gray placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She turned to face him and saw that he was smiling at her, further reinforcing her belief that he actually wasn't mad at her.

On the other hand, Rias and company were still processing the information that they had just received. What Thalia had told them changed everything. On one side of things, they had a chance to identify and possibly take out a good chunk if not all of the slavers in the area by tailing their target to his meeting. However, there was also the fact that they were not properly equipped for what could possibly become a large firefight. They couldn't call for reinforcements or get supplies either as their base was in the opposite direction of Silverfort and if they wasted any more time they could miss their opportunity altogether.

"What do we do Rias? Do we still go after him?" Rachel asked knowing what was on the table. They knew that Brett was a big playmaker in the slave industry and getting rid of him would definitely be beneficial, but then again he could lead them to every big name that they were after.

"Gray?" Thalia called softly as the trio in front of them continued to discuss amongst one another. Seeing that this was more than likely supposed to be a private conversation, Ash walked over to participate in strategizing with Rias' group.

"What's up?" he turned to face the green-eyed girl who was standing awkwardly before him. Her gaze failed to meet his and she was shifting around uncomfortably and immediately Gray knew that something was wrong. Even so, Gray couldn't help but admire just how cute she looked just then. With her black tank top, blue jean shorts, and the red checkered flannel tied around her waist she looked like an everyday girl. If it weren't for the pile of dead ghoul bodies behind her, Gray would have completely forgotten that he was trapped in a video game.

"I—I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Brett. I know I should have, because—well we're partners now but I was just—"

"Scared?" Gray finished for her. The girl looked up and finally faced Gray, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. His soft and worried expression went a long way in slowly comforting her, but she still felt bad for all the things that she had gotten him into. The truth was that she didn't want to go after Brett, hell she wanted to get as far away from that man as possible.

"Yes." She nodded her head, once again returning her gaze back to the floor. "I didn't want to risk telling you—because I didn't want you to do something stupid like go after him. I know that when we found you we didn't look like much, but Brett is a very dangerous man. I figured that if I kept his whereabouts from you that I could somehow repay you by sort of keeping you safe, but I guess we're going to go after him anyways. I just hope you aren't mad at me, you know for keeping secrets." Thalia admitted openly. Although she would have liked to be forgiven, she would have understood if Gray was upset with her after her revelation.

Gray listened intently and without interruption, waiting for his opportunity to speak. After a brief pause, Thalia once again felt the reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. "Gray?" she said underneath her breath after she looked up at him once more to see him smiling softly at her while giving her the thumbs up.

"Thalia, it's okay. I trust you." He said.

 _I trust you._

 _I trust you._

 _I trust you._

The words echoed over and over again in her head. _"He trusts me?"_ she thought incredulously. In the Wasteland, trust was a big thing and wasn't something that was just handed out. Yet here he was, a guy she'd royally screwed over saying that he trusted her. Before she could continue their conversation however, Ash had approached them ready to relay the plan that Rias and her squad came up with.

"What's the word?" Gray asked, casually looking over towards Rias and her smug looking group.

"Well, to be honest I think we should just go in the place and shoot the bastards to hell, but they think otherwise. Damn pansies." He grunted while rolling his eyes, earning a chuckle from Gray and Thalia. "Anyway, they said the place is going to be well guarded and a bunch of other shit I tuned out, but basically they want to stop by the nearest town and get us properly equipped just in case things head south."

"Sounds good to me I guess. Thalia you in?" Gray asked over his shoulder. When she nodded her head in agreement Ash breathed a sigh of relief in seeing that they would be tagging along after all. While he did want to punish the scum responsible for committing such atrocious crimes, he didn't think he'd be able to handle Rias and her company for long.

"Awesome, so uh quick question you guys." Ash said quickly, regaining the attention of his two newest teammates. "How are you guys on caps?" he asked. Gray rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Thalia directed her gaze to the floor, telling Ash that they were most likely broke. "You guys don't have any!?" he whispered, half in disbelief and half angrily.

"To be fair, Thalia and I were taken prisoner by a group of Raiders and stripped of all of our gear. The only thing they left us with were our Pip-Boys and our underwear." Gray informed Ash, who was blushing a beet red at the thought of Thalia clad in nothing but her underwear.

Regaining his composure, Ash placed his hands on his hips and spoke low as to not raise the suspicions of Rias and the others. "Well what the hell are we supposed to tell them now? If they find out we are broke they'll kick us to the curb!"

"Weren't you the one saying that you didn't want their help anyway? And wait a second, you're broke too!? Why are you getting mad at us for?" Gray retorted.

"That's not important." Ash said quickly, crossing his arms.

"Then what's the problem then? So what, we're broke. They're the ones asking for our help anyways." Thalia stated, earning a nod of agreement from Gray.

"Well you see—I kind of said that—you guys were loaded." Ash revealed.

"YOU WHAT!?" Gray said a little too loudly.

"Shhh—shhh! They'll hear you!" Ash shushed, hoping that they hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere. Peeping over his shoulder, Ash saw that they were too busy engaged in their own conversation to notice what they were doing. _"Oh thank the lord."_ He breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"Why would you tell them something like that?" Gray asked, genuinely curious as to what gave Ash the idea that he and Thalia were rich.

"Because man! You know how they are, actin' all high and mighty all the damn time. They have all the guns, all the armor, and so I just felt like we needed an advantage. So I kinda—just stretched the truth a little bit." Ash scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"A little bit?" Gray scoffed.

"Alright alright!" Ash raised his hands defensively. "So I lied! Big deal! It's not like it matters now anyways. Rias and her goons just get another advantage over us now." He huffed.

"Or maybe not." Thalia said, piquing the interest of both Gray and Ash. "I mean we may not be loaded with caps, but that doesn't mean we can't be." She said.

"Huh?" Ash responded and Gray just raised an eyebrow, prompting Thalia to explain further.

"Well, we may not have caps now, but that doesn't mean we can't get the caps later. The apartment complex that Gray and I were staying in before we came to help you had a ton of stuff inside. If all three of us load up our inventories before we head out, then maybe we can turn up enough of a profit in the next town to prove that Ash isn't a total liar." She explained.

"Hey." He said, taking a little offense at her little jab. Even so he knew that the whole situation was of his doing in the first place he didn't let it bother him all that much. He was just happy that he didn't have to go back and relay the news that they were broke!

"Yeah, I guess that could work, but then again with my experience with Fallout games a lot of that stuff won't sell for a lot. I mean at most the three of us can make like 200 to 300 caps each if we're lucky and that isn't exactly a lot of spending money." Gray pointed out.

"True, but then again this isn't a regular Fallout game. When I traveled with Brett we met two kinds of merchants. Player and NPC. Since everyone has become involuntary imprisoned in this hellhole, I'm sure that people need clothes or hot plates now or whatever else it is that they'll need to live out here. So when we get to whatever town Rias and her team take us to, we just talk to all the NPC's and player merchant's there and try to find the best deal. Even if we don't have a lot of caps, I'm sure we can each buy something and then just tell them that we spent all our money on ammo or something." Thalia finished.

"Sounds good enough to me." Ash clapped his hands together excitedly. "So what now? I tell Rias and the others that we'll be down in just a minute?"

"Yeah, Thalia and I will get started on stuffing our inventories in the mean-time. When you're done head on up and grab what you can. We can't take too long though, or else we risk them catching on. So don't get too nitpicky with what you reach for. Just bag it and go, alright?" Gray said.

"Got it boss." Ash replied as he turned to go and tell Rias to give them a few minutes. Seeing that they were now on the clock, Thalia and Gray turned and headed back towards the apartment.

"Bet I can fill my inventory faster than you can." Thalia said to Gray with a sly smile on her face. A low chuckle escaped his lips as he caught her gaze. There was this determined look in her eye that was also coupled with a hint of amusement. Seeing that, Gray started to realize that even in this virtual hell, he could still live a happy life. Knowing full well that Thalia had still yet to recover from her sprained ankle, Gray smiled thinking that he already had this one in the bag.

"You're on." He said, but that smile slowly started to fade when he noticed the smug expression on her face and before he knew it she was already inside the building. _"What the?"_ he thought, dumbfounded. Realizing that this girl already had a trick or two up her sleeve, Gray shook his head and ran inside after her, fully focused on winning their little bet.

 **A/N: And that brings Chapter 6 to a close! Now I know this was a dialogue heavy chapter and it took a step away from the traditional action I seem to love so much, but this was an important stepping stone for the rest of the story. Chapter 7 should bring back the action so don't fret too much! Anywho, it's REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!**

 **MaxGentlman1: Thanks! Glad my spacing is getting a better! Yeah I believe Ash is going to become a central part of this story now, lol. He really grew on me! I see you also found a plot hole of mine! (I could've sworn I said what outfits they received in the last chapter but I guess I must've just thought about it and left it out…) Still, I managed to give Thalia an outfit here but as for Gray he's wearing a simple black shirt and jeans at the moment. (His outfit comes next chapter!) Thanks for reviewing!**

 **AKS-784: Thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying the story because I sure as hell enjoy writing it! As for the serum, that dastardly thing… details will emerge soon enough! Although the abilities are starting to become known, that's only scratching the surface! I hope you continue to find enjoyment in this story and I do hope to hear from you again. Thanks for the review!**

 **The world traveler: Yeah, you're probably right about that but then again math isn't my strong suit lol. It also doesn't help that my math teacher assigns like 5 assignments that are 100 problems each. It's not hard, just time consuming really. Anywho yeah, Gray is kind of naïve but he'll grow as the story progresses! Thanks for the review and I hope to hear from you again!**

 **PortalSpartan: Man! I still can't believe that guy won a lifetime supply of vans for that! On a different note though, I'm glad that you are enjoying the story! As for time jumps, I'm not entirely sure when I am going to include them but they will be there whenever they fit with the story I guess. Also, man your story is great! (Seriously guys, if you haven't checked it out yet, head on over!) Lol maybe we can do a crossover or something! Anywho, thanks for the review and I hope to hear from you again!**

 **Alright I believe that is all of them, but once again thank you to all of you who reviewed and to all of you have favorited or are following this story! It really motivates me to keep writing the story and also helps me to develop as a writer! On that note, things are turning in the Grand Wasteland! So Wastelanders, if any of you have any comments, questions, suggestions, ideas, or concerns please feel free to PM me or leave a review! (They are much appreciated!) Until next time, Frosty out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Binary Squad

Disclaimer: I do not own **Fallout or any of its characters. I also do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters. I do claim ownership of this story however!**

Chapter 7: Binary Squad

Thalia stood triumphantly, hands on her hips with a wide smile on her face. Gray hobbled out of the concrete building, his mind still not completely comprehending how he'd lost to someone who was significantly slower than him. Ash was not far behind, emerging only a few moments after Gray. "I win." Thalia said, adding in a little celebratory dance for emphasis. Gray only smirked, deciding it was better to let her have the win anyway. He walked past her and over to Rias and company, who were waiting patiently for the three-man group to finish their business.

"Are we ready to get this show on the road?" She asked as Gray approached her. Kota lifted a large backpack off the floor and Rachel stood, clearly ready to leave. When she got a head nod as the go-ahead signal, Rias pulled up her Pip-Boy and sent an invite to the three players in front of them.

"Binary Squad?" Gray asked as the party name appeared above the group invitation.

"Yeah that's us. Problem?" Rachel said defensively, whilst popping the bubblegum in her mouth. Despite the harshness in her voice, Gray didn't take the bait and simply shrugged. They accepted the invites and immediately saw the difference in levels between them and Rias' group.

"Holy shit you guys don't have a life." Ash remarked after noticing their health bars and level number.

"Can I just shoot this guy!?" Rachel cried, having lost the little patience she'd had left. Ash just chuckled and stepped forward confidently.

"You don't have enough bullets, blondie." He said with a click of his tongue.

"Oh I only need one you big mouthed son of a-."

"OKAY! Let's not get carried away now." Rias intervened before blood was to be spilled. Rachel only rolled her eyes before putting up her weapon and starting off in the direction of the next town. "Kota!" Rias called, gesturing over her shoulder. The behemoth didn't need to be told what to do, as he grabbed his gear and followed after his angry blonde teammate.

"Ooo she seemed kind of mad. She always like that?" Ash asked as soon as Rachel was out of earshot.

"Only when she's provoked." Rias stated with her arms crossed. "And I don't like when my team is provoked." She added in with a hint of venom in her voice. Gray and Thalia got the message loud and clear. Ash on the other hand either didn't really care or he had a major death wish because he walked right up to the Binary Squad leader, clicked his tongue and whispered:

"I don't care."

There was a subtle laugh, one that Gray recognized as the kind of one you do before you punch someone in the face. And that is exactly what happened. It was almost a blur, as Rias' fist connected with Ash's nose with enough force to send him stumbling backwards. She wasn't finished yet because Rias never left anyone standing. Still in a daze from the blow to his nose, poor Ash was in for more punishment as he found the world spinning once more before his back hit the ground, his arm was locked uncomfortably in Rias' grip, and a boot was pressed firmly on his neck.

"I call this one the Scorpion's hold." Rias said.

"Ooo kinky." Ash blurted out from his downed position, a decision he came to regret as the boot on his neck pressed down even harder than before. Ash's unexpected words almost made Gray burst out into a fit of laughter and even Thalia had to hold back a giggle as they both watched the scene continue to unfold.

"You really don't know when to shut up do you?" Rias said in irritation. She twisted his arm to add to the discomfort, half hoping that he would keep his mouth shut but, also hoping that he'd give her another reason to inflict more pain. It really was alleviating some of her stress.

"Can't say that I do. It's—ah—one of my quirks. You'll learn to love it babe." Ash managed to say with his face pressed to the dirt.

Rias let out yet another subtle laugh, one that made Gray queasy. "Will I?" Rias added. Paired with the look in her eyes, Gray knew that whatever happened next was not going to be good for his newfound acquaintance. Thalia also must've understood what was about to happen because she turned away and tightened her grip on Gray's arm.

"Oh yeah—they all do. It's only a matter of time before you fall in love with me sweetie." Ash continued on, blissfully unaware of what was to come. That was the breaking point for Rias. _**Literally.**_ With a simple push, she snapped Ash's arm like a twig. There was a loud scream, followed by a slur of incoherent babbling and whimpering. Stepping away from her handiwork, Rias smiled knowing that she'd made her point.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Gray yelled at Rias for taking things too far. The only reason he'd let things carry on this long was because he didn't think she'd actually hurt him, especially after they'd just made peace.

"Is there a problem?" Rias said, tilting her head while Ash was still screaming bloody Mary.

"OH MY GOD! THERE IS BLOOD EVERYWHERE! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" (Despite there not being blood anywhere.)

"Oh you mean him?" Rias gestured toward Ash's wailing form. Gray nodded his head and readied himself for another skirmish. Thalia's hand danced nervously above where her pistol was sitting in its makeshift holster, ready for anything. "Calm down. He's fine." Rias said, noticing that they were on edge.

"You just broke his arm and he's screaming like a lunatic. I think he is the opposite of fine." Thalia joined in.

"He's just overreacting." Rias stated with a shrug of her shoulders.

"OVERREACTING! LET ME BREAK YOUR ARM BITCH AND LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" Ash cried from behind her.

"Fine. Go right ahead tough guy." Rias answered, surprising everyone. She even spun around to face him and extended her arm out to him. Ash was so shocked that he stopped screaming and looked at her extended limb, pondering on if he should really break her arm or not. Seeing as how she'd left everyone confused and how Ash wasn't going to act on his words, Rias decided to explain to herself to them. "Injuries work a little different here in Fallout: Online then they do in the real world." She began.

Gray subconsciously raised a hand toward his scarred left eye, wondering if this was the reason for its miraculous rejuvenation. Last he checked, an eye didn't just grow back on its own. "Then how do they work?" he asked.

"I was getting to that. You see, in the real world an injury like this would take months to heal but, in Fallout: Online something like this could heal in as little as 4 hours to a day or two depending on its severity. It'd heal even faster, probably instantaneous if we had the right equipment like stimpaks or a doctor's bag with us."

"What the hell are you waiting for then! Give me a stimpak already!" Ash yelled out, ready to rid himself of the pain he was enduring.

"No." She replied coldly.

"What do you mean no? You broke my arm!"

"You tested my patience. What? You think that stimpaks grow on trees? Resources like that are extremely hard to come by and I'm not just going to waste it on something as trivial as a broken arm." Rias countered.

"Trivial? If resources like that mattered then why would you deliberately hurt a teammate? I mean I know he can be loud but, that doesn't give you the right to just go and break his arm like that in the first place." Gray shot back.

"Hey!" Ash said somewhat hurt that the people on his side thought he was loud. Still though he was happy that they were at least defending his position on the matter. In his time in the Wasteland he knew that most people wouldn't have even batted an eye and moved on with their own business.

Rias gritted her teeth knowing that she overdid it this time. She didn't want to go through another fight with these people again, especially after they'd just so recently agreed to team up. The last thing she needed was a lack of trust from them if things ever went south and they needed to communicate. "Fine. I'll give him a stimpak." She gave in, much to Ash's delight and the rest of the group's relief. "But first-" she paused and looked Ash straight in the eyes. "Who has two broken arms and is a TOTAL bitch?"

"You need to work on your math, baby, you only broke one of my—"

* _Crushing of bone followed by a high pitched squeal*_

"This guy." Rias said with a slight hint of amusement in her voice. Ash didn't have to bear the pain for long however, as she jabbed him in the neck with a stimpak needle before he could pierce anymore eardrums. "There, all better." She said like a doctor would to a kid who'd just gotten a wound cleaned up.

"Wow, she wasn't kidding! That stuff kicked in fast! I feel great!" Ash chimed happy that he regained movement in both his arms again.

"See? I told you so! Now if we're done here there is a city we need to get to and my friends are already waiting for us up ahead. So, catch up with us when you guys are ready. It's about to be morning soon and I'd like to get to a move on. Ciao!" Rias said in that weird friendly tone she'd used with them when she first proposed that they join her group.

"I don't like her." Ash said as soon as she was gone. He continued to stretch both of his arms out like he was worried that they were going to break again on their own.

"Yeah, well like her or not we're stuck with them now." Thalia informed them, knowing that this was something that they were going to have to get used to. Even so, she was just happy to not be alone in the place that had already claimed so many lives.

"No, we could just wait until they fall asleep and then WHAM! We take their shit, hang them by their toes, and be gone before they know what hit them!" Ash proposed with a gleam in his eye. After having been humiliated his mind was reeling with millions of ways on how he could return the favor.

"Are you trying to get your arms broken again?" Gray said with a shake of his head and a small chuckle.

"Hey man, you know that she totally sucker punched me and caught me off guard. This time I'll be ready for any tricks that she-devil might have up her sleeve."

"I don't know Ash, that she-devil kind of kicked your ass." Thalia reminded him.

"* _Gasp!_ Who's side are you guys on!?"

"The one that doesn't end up with our arms being broken." Gray said jokingly.

"And here I was thinking you guys were cool." Ash said with a small pout. Having had his dreams of sweet, sweet revenge knocked down, Ash trudged forward in disappointment.

"Could he be any more dramatic?" Thalia commented as she watched him join up with Rias and the others.

"Cut him some slack. Believe me, injuries may heal faster in this world but, that doesn't mean they hurt any less. Besides, he's way better than the other three in my opinion."

"Yeah, you have a point there. The pain in my ankle was really killing me before you wrapped it up. I can't imagine what you guys went through with those type of injuries. And don't get me wrong, I think Ash is pretty cool. Just a little overdramatic sometimes."

"True that." Gray answered before he and Thalia jogged over to catch up with the members of Binary Squad.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

On any other Saturday, Alyson would have most likely been out at the mall with some friends or sneaking into another movie, but not this time. Maybe if circumstances had been different, then maybe she'd be out enjoying herself and all the little things that life had to offer. But how could she do that if her 'bestest' friend in the whole wide world wasn't there to share it with her? How could she go out and have fun when Gray was fighting for his very life inside of a video game?

The answer was that she couldn't. Maybe she felt guilty about everything. Like this whole ordeal was her fault in the first place. It was hard to explain for her, because the only way she knew how to explain it was with that cliché old quote that everybody used to explain loss. The one that goes 'you don't know what you have until you've lost it.'

Sure, Gray and Alyson were the best of friends. Nothing in the world could ever change that. But, Alyson felt like she could have been a better friend. While it was true that they'd often spent most of their time together growing up, when high school came around things changed.

See, the dynamic childhood duo from Oak Street had found themselves walking two very different paths. Alyson met all kinds of new people and became very popular at school whereas Gray stuck to his small close-knit group of friends. The Saturday's that they'd always spent together suddenly became long days of gaming for Gray and crazy nights out for Alyson.

And now here she was, sitting at his desk wishing for one of their traditional Saturday's back where they'd sit down in his living room and watch the scheduled cartoon block every morning. Where they'd exchange stories and poke fun at one another or help each other out with the grueling amounts of homework that they were assigned. What she would give just to have one more Saturday with her best friend.

Instead she was spending her Saturday on a creaky old chair staring at a computer screen detailing the process of modding games. To make matters worse, she found it hard to concentrate on reading when she'd hear a 'beep' every second because of Gray's medical machinery set-up. Add that in with the fact that Alyson had been studying like it was finals week in college and it isn't hard to see why she wanted to tear her hair out. If only it had been so easy as to unplugging the damn helmet. If only…

Then out of the blue, Alyson's phone went off scaring the living crap out of here. She'd grown so accustomed to the rhythmic beating of Gray's heart rate monitor that the sudden noise was so unexpected that she couldn't help but jump. She took a minute to gather herself before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her cellular device. Tracing her finger through her unlock pattern the screen brightened considerably and brought up a list of notifications for the day. She swiped them away until she saw the message that made her phone go off.

Her finger hovered over the button to ignore the message, but a small part of her was tempted to open it. _"What does he want?"_ She thought, face twisted in a scowl as she read over the name of the sender again. _Brian._ Figuring that it wouldn't do her any harm to open the message she tapped the screen once, opening up the text for her eyes to read.

 _Hey… can we talk? About us? Look baby, I was an idiot… and I miss you. We were great together and I miss having you around. So please… just think about it—okay?_

And think about it she did. See when she'd met Brian he was one of the nicest people that she'd ever met. Gray had told her that he was bad news, but everything in Brian's approach and the way he talked contradicted her best friend's advice. She narrowed it down to that Gray was being jealous again and she decided to give Brian a chance despite the warnings. For a time, things were great and she was happy with the decision she'd made. She met all kinds of new people and became insta-popular seemingly overnight. Her phone never stopped ringing and there was always something to do. It broke the routine that she'd grown tired of and sent her on this teenage spree that she thought she wanted.

Now, here she was staring off at the text wondering if it was all even worth it. She wouldn't deny that she'd had some pretty great times hanging out with Brian and his crew, but she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that there were days that she wished she'd just stayed home. She read the text again, knowing that if she replied, things would only get worse.

Still after the FO incident, she'd found herself lacking company. While she did hang around the Programming Prodigies and Gamer Guild members, she didn't really think any of them were her friends. Conversing with them was awkward at best and that was a rare occurrence because most of the members would keep their distance. It was like they were afraid of girls or something. Still, Alyson couldn't deny that she wanted someone to talk to, someone to hear out her problems like the way Gray would or Brian did in the early stages of their relationship.

Then again, the memory of Brian forcing himself onto her the day she broke up with him made her think twice about replying to the text. While "that was the first time that Brian had ever attempted something like that, she didn't want to give him the opportunity of being able to try it again. That one thought alone was the deciding factor as she threw the phone on the desk and leaned back in Gray's cranky old chair once more. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed heavily. The computer screen had gone dark due to the lack of activity and the setting sun was trying desperately to keep its hold on the darkness that was pushing it back.

She spun around in the chair, dismounting mid-spin. Aly walked casually over to Gray's bed and sat down with her hands in her lap. "One Saturday down…" she began, keeping her eyes glued to her feet as she spoke. "Mrs. Turner just assigned one of her killer study guides again… you know the ones with like 200 questions? Um—" she choked up, wondering if he could even hear anything she was saying. Still, she felt better talking like this. Taking another deep breath, Alyson pressed forward.

"Your friend Tucker is really nice. I met him the other day, he vouched for me to get into the Programming Prodigies. Yeah, I know—not really my crowd but, I have to say some of this stuff I am learning is pretty cool. I don't think they like me much right now, but hopefully they'll come around eventually." The girl continued on, informing the comatose Gray about everything he had missed since his departure from the real world. From her bad break-up with Brian to the latest trick she'd learned from modding, she let it all out.

And she felt better for it, like a great weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Having relayed everything that she wanted, Alyson finally mustered up the courage to look towards Gray's sleeping form. It perplexed her just how peaceful he looked. After hearing all the news about the deaths involved in game and reading up on the lore of the Fallout series, Alyson couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors that Gray was going through.

Then again, his expression told her otherwise. Sure, it hadn't really changed in the entire time he'd been trapped, but a part of her couldn't help but feel like he was enjoying his time in the virtual world. This was his favorite game after all. Thinking about it like that helped to ease some of the worry in her heart, as she imagined her friend fighting off hordes of the creatures that she'd read about and leading people to safety all while being his dorky self.

The thought made her laugh and she relaxed a little as she fell back and rested her head softly next to his. She stared up at the ceiling in the same manner that he was, wondering if he even remembered what his ceiling looked like or if he was thinking about his life in the real world. She wondered if he'd thought about her at all in his travels in the wasteland. She turned sideways, seeing the big and bulky grayish hue of the Virtual Gear helmet. She tapped it once, curious to see if Gray would react to the touch. When nothing happened, Alyson was a little disappointed even though she already knew that he wasn't going to answer anyways. Still, she held on to the hope that he would and that's what was driving her through each day.

Because if she gave up now, then what kind of best friend would she be?

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"HOW MUCH LONGER!" Ash yelled in annoyance. After everyone had rested up for a few hours, Binary Squad had walked along the winding roads without a single break for nine hours. The sun was on its last legs, as its rays were beginning to be swallowed up by the looming night and to top it off, the last time anyone ate was before they left camp.

"I'm sure we're almost there." Thalia said, trying to remain optimistic. While she was just as annoyed and tired as Ash, she didn't want to start any fights, especially after seeing Rias' temperament earlier.

"We better be! I swear man, if I have to listen to Butcher Pete one more time today I'm going to pull my ears out!" Ash complained.

"And if I have to listen to you whine again, I'm going to sew your mouth shut!" Rachel seethed. Of the other members of Binary squad, Rachel had the lowest level of tolerance among anyone. It didn't help that they'd been traveling for so long and that the radio that they'd been listening to had begun to get a little repetitive.

"You know, I bet you are great at parties." Ash teased, earning a snarl from the blondie. "Look, all I am saying is that we've been walking for hours, listening to the same damn songs over and over and over! You'd think that for an MMO of this size, they would have put together a larger selection." He argued.

Tired of all the bickering between the two groups, Kota decided to entertain Ash's conversation. "Hey man, come on these songs are classics."

"Hey big guy, I'm not saying they aren't classics, I'm just saying can I not listen to Anything Goes every twenty minutes. Like where's the Elvis at, or the Beatles you know. Now those guys…yeah those guys I could listen to all day." Ash replied.

"You like Elvis?" Gray asked, somewhat surprised that Ash was into that type of music. It was rare to find an old soul nowadays.

"Hell yeah man! Elvis is the shit!" Ash answered enthusiastically.

"Who's Elvis?" came the question that made everyone stop in their tracks. Seeing as how everyone had suddenly just stopped, Rias too came to a halt and turned around. She never thought that her question would elicit such a reaction. Still she'd never heard of the guy and didn't understand what the big deal was.

"What did you say?" Ash asked in total disbelief.

"I said, who is Elvis?" She repeated, completely oblivious to the reaction of everyone around her.

"Rias, you seriously have never heard of Elvis?" Rachel asked, hoping that her commander was just joking around.

"No I haven't. What? Is that a big deal or something?" she said with her hands on her hips.

"The King of Rock! Big E.! The Legend! THE FREAKING KING! You know, the guy that does the—" Ash paused, "Thank you—Thank you very much!" he continued, complete with the whole gesture. Gray nodded his head of approval and Rachel even cracked a smile at Ash's impersonation.

"No dice." Their silver-haired leader answered, much to everyone's disappointment.

"I can't believe you've never heard of Elvis." Rachel said, taking point and signaling to the group to get a move on again. "That's like a music must right there. When we get out of this place, you've got to give that guy a listen."

"I'll keep that in mind." Rias responded, genuinely curious as to why this 'Elvis' was such a big deal.

"Keep that in mind? How have you not heard of Elvis? Seriously? Like did you crawl out from under a rock or something?" Ash grumbled.

"You must really like broken bones…" Rias began.

"Can we not do this right now? I'm too tired to deal with this constant bickering." Thalia groaned, having had her fill of everything at the moment. Kota nodded his head in agreement and while Rachel didn't show it, she too had had enough.

"Yeah, you have a point." Rias gave in. Knowing that everyone was starting to run low on gas, Rias decided that it'd be best to set up camp for the night. She knew that they weren't too far from a small little town, but then again she didn't think that anyone had any energy left to walk that far. "Alright I think that's enough walking for today. We'll set up camp here." Rias ordered.

"Oh thank God." Ash rejoiced, falling down to the earth. While no one else was quite as vocal as Ash, they all too were relieved to finally get some rest. The location that Rias had chosen would be a prime camping location as they walked a little ways off the road and into a nice spot that was surrounded by large boulders and was removed from prying eyes.

"Alright, Ash and Kota you two are in charge of getting wood for the fire and catching any food. Rachel, Thalia set up the beds and organize our supplies. I want things to look orderly. Gray, you and me are going to scout the area and make sure nothing dangerous is lurking around here." Rias delegated. The first to complain was Ash as he groaned at the thought of my work. However, a glare from Rias quickly quelled any chance of resistance as Kota grabbed Ash and walked off to perform his task.

Thalia and Rachel had no qualms working with one another and were already at work in prepping the campsite. They had even begun to engage in small talk with one another and were laughing and smiling like they were a couple of old friends.

"Come on Gray. Let's get a move on." Rias said, disappearing behind a boulder. Gray took one last look over the surrounding area before following after his silver-haired teammate. The area was rocky and desert like, but then again that was the case for most if not all areas of the Grand Wasteland. It was weird walking around and seeing a bunch of trees without any leaves, especially in the desert. Even though he knew this was the atmosphere of Fallout, it didn't feel any less unnatural to him. He followed closely behind Rias, who'd had both of her guns holstered and was walking casually checking around to see if she saw anything unusual. For a second, Gray contemplated on whether or not he should make conversation but, like she'd read his mind Rias beat him to it. "So…Gray what's your story?" she asked as she looked over a small cliff.

"My story?" He asked trying to figure out where to start. "Yeah, about that… my story isn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows. No offense, but it's just not something I really want to talk about right now." Gray answered honestly.

"I understand. Given my week in the wasteland, I won't blame you if you don't want to talk about it. The things I've seen… well… I'm sure you can imagine..." She trailed off, revealing a side of her that Gray never would have thought existed. The way she stood betrayed everything that Gray had previously thought of her. In place of the strong-willed and confident leader was just a girl who was just as scared as he was.

"Yeah." Was the only word Gray could muster, as he scratched the back of his head trying to figure out a way to lighten the conversation. "But—um—why don't we talk about where we're from?" He suggested, hoping that things would shift away from the somber tone that their conversation had taken.

"Okay, you first." Rias answered, hopping over a rock as she did so.

"Well, I was born in Santa Ana, California but my family moved to Boston when I was really little. I've lived there my whole life and I have to say it is really nice out there."

"Really? I've always wanted to visit Boston, ever since I was a little girl. My dad is a huge Red Sox fan and my mom absolutely loved the Yankees. I swear every time they played I thought my parents were going to get a divorce. They really did love their baseball." Rias revealed. "Still, I guess I didn't answer your question yet, so I'm from Avondale, Arizona. And let me tell you, for a good three quarters of the year it is absolutely beautiful in Arizona. Then you hit summer and its like the end of the world because it is so damn hot!" She finished with a laugh.

"I can only imagine. It's always fresh in Boston or rainy but still fresh nonetheless. Then there are those days when it gets really cold, like when it snows. Like, I love the snow and everything but sometimes it's just too damn cold."

"You know, being that I live in such a hot area I think we each have a different appreciation of temperature. I love it when it's cold. Like me, I'd love to see snow, given as how I've never seen the stuff in my life. But—"

"Wait, you've never seen snow before? Oh that has to change! It's like something that everybody should get to experience." Gray said, shocked again that Rias had missed out on yet another necessity.

"I just want to throw a snowball." She admitted. "And build a snowman too. Maybe snowboard and build a snow fort. Ooo! Make a snow angel or drink hot chocolate! Okay so maybe there are tons of things I want to do." She added sheepishly.

Before Gray could respond however, the two-man scout team heard a distinct male voice coming over the hill. It was too far for them to distinguish what was said, but given that they both reacted to the sound, they knew it wasn't just their imaginations. Rias was the first to speed off toward the hill with Gray right on her trail. The duo took cover behind a large rock and peeked over it to find a group of men herding people into crudely made wagons.

"The hell is going on?" Gray whispered as he watched one of the men hit a raggedly clothed individual with a baton. The unnecessary violence triggered something in Gray, as he found himself wanting to beat the living daylights out of the defenseless man's attacker. Rias must have been feeling the same way, as her breathing grew heavier and her grip on her magnum had tightened.

"Slavers." She answered, recognizing the silver collars that they were strapping around some of the beaten down civilians scattered about. "We need to stop them." She said, as she checked her ammo and began to move along the edge of the rock.

"Wait! Shouldn't we warn the others? That's a lot of guys down there." Gray said as he took another peek over the rock. Given that he was unarmed, he wasn't particularly fond of charging into a battle where his foes were better equipped than he was.

"No time. Besides, only one of them has a gun and I'm going for him. As soon as he goes down run up and take his gun. I'll wait for you to get close enough to shoot him." And with that Rias slid down the hill and disappeared behind a pair of boulders. Gray sighed heavily, questioning why he always got the short end of the stick. Even so, he knew he couldn't mope around forever so he made his way down the hill, taking great care to move from rock to rock without being seen. Everything was going smoothly for Gray, until his foot got slipped and he tripped up, falling behind a nearby boulder. Fortunately, he was far enough away that nobody had noticed him fall. Unfortunately, he did make enough noise to attract the attention of some of the slavers, one of which decided to investigate the area.

Gray pressed up against the rock and held his breath as the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder. "Come out, come out wherever you are." The slaver cooed, but Gray knew exactly what would happen if he decided to show himself. "I promise if you make this easy that me and my friends will take it easy on you." The slaver added. His voice became clearer and the crunching of the dirt beneath his boots only told Gray that he was right around the rock. It wouldn't be long before the man stumbled upon him. That's when he heard the _*click_ , that distinct sound of a pistol being primed for its next shot. "Okay, don't say I didn't warn ya!" The slaver bellowed, knowing that he had his prey right where he wanted him.

Gray assumed the armadillo position and was praying that by some miracle the slaver wouldn't notice him. And fortunately for him, that miracle came in the sound of a gunshot. At first he thought that it was directed towards him, but based on how it sounded farther away he knew that Rias just saved his ass. "The fuck! The son of a bitch got Carl! Everyone find that shooter!" The slaver nearest Gray barked out, resulting in all the nearby slavers to stop what they were doing and do as they were told.

" _Guess I got the lead guy then. Well, she just saved my ass, so I guess its my turn to return the favor."_ Having gotten the grip on his nerves, Gray rose from his position on the ground and found that the lead slaver was standing with his back to him just to the right of the boulder. Having heard a slight shuffle behind him, the man started to turn around but, Gray was quicker as he grabbed him and slammed him against the rock. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a rifle smack against the hard rock before it bounced along down to the base of the hill. Though he succeeded in disarming his foe, Gray knew that he wasn't out of the woods yet as he stepped back to avoid a counter-slash from the man's knife. To make matters worse, it seemed that the Slavers were better equipped than Rias initially thought as there was an exchange of gunfire at her location. Outmanned, Gray knew he needed to act quickly in order to help her out before it was too late.

"You may have caught me off guard once you sneaky little bastard. I promise you it won't happen again!" He roared as he charged at Gray with a downward swipe. The knife bounced off of the rock letting off a display of sparks as it did so. The lead slaver didn't let up on his attacks either, forcing Gray to keep backpedaling to avoid being slashed by serrated steel. "Stand still fucker!" the slaver cried in frustration as each swing was just out of reach.

"No thanks!" Gray quipped as he danced away, yet again.

Given the slope of the hill that they on, Gray had a disadvantage as dodging wasn't the easiest thing for him to do. The number of close calls kept rising until finally the man had succeeded in delivering a cut directly across Gray's chest. Lucky for Gray, the knife didn't slice very deep and the wound wasn't all that serious. Still, if their battle continued in this pattern then it would only be a matter of time before he received the death blow. The man continued his erratic swinging and Gray continued to dodge as best as he could until he saw the opening he desired.

That opening came as the man once again went for an overhead slash. At the height of his swing, Gray stepped forward and raised one arm above his head just in time to stop the man's knife from coming any closer. Now that he was in close, Gray delivered one blow to the man's stomach with his free hand and followed up with another one to the chin. Gray didn't get to land another however, as the slaver freed himself and turned the tables. Using his weight, the man pushed Gray back into a rock, pinning him against it.

"I got you now bitch!" He roared as he tried stabbing Gray in the gut with his knife. His attempt was halted yet again, as Gray held the man's deadly attack at bay. "Give up already kid. I promise you it'll be a lot easier!" Gray replied with a headbutt. His opponent staggered backward only to trip over himself where he tumbled down to the bottom of the hill where his head collided with a rock, knocking him out.

Having dealt with the first slaver, Gray slid down the hill to where the rifle landed and scooped it up before taking cover behind a fallen log. Upon closer examination of his newly acquired weapon, he found that it was one that he hadn't seen before. The weapon had a refurbished wooden stock and a more beat-up looking receiver with strange knobs running along the curve of it. It also had this weird looking dish thing around the edge of the barrel that made Gray think it was related to the Gamma Gun. The screen of his Pip-Boy told him that it was a Radium Rifle and that he had sixteen bullets to work with.

" _This thing shoots 45. ammo? Weird looking gun, but I guess it's as good as any."_ Peeking out from behind his rock he saw that the rest of the slavers were beginning to close in on Rias' position. They also hadn't noticed his brawl with their leader so that was a plus for him as he took a deep breath and aimed down his sights.

A lone bead of sweat rolled down Gray's face as he locked in on his target. He hesitated for a brief second as he realized that he could be possibly be killing a real person. His finger sat on the trigger, where he debated if he should pull it or not. A part of him knew that he had to do it, because if he didn't then he and Rias could very well end up dead. His mind flashed images of Greg, the man who'd almost killed him in the boiler room of the Raider hideout and as horrible as they were, it reminded him that in the Wasteland it was kill or be killed.

So for him, there was no more debating. The slavers were practically on top of Rias' position. The time to act was now and Gray wasted no time, as he pressed down on the trigger. Now, this was Gray's first time ever shooting a gun. Before this, all his experience shooting came from a mouse or a controller and there was hardly any skill involved there. In VR however, it was much more complicated then just pointing and shooting. The rifle kicked back, nearly hitting his jaw. Gray almost lost his balance, as he saw a flash of red and a laser-like projectile leaving the barrel of his gun. _"It's a laser rifle!?"_ he thought incredulously as his eyes followed the radiated bullet.

Naturally, Gray's first-ever shot missed. It was wide right and never hit anything as far as Gray was concerned. Luckily for Rias though, the shot did get the attention of the slavers who in turn returned fire on Gray. Popping out of cover with her trusty magnum, Rias made quick work of two slavers to her immediate left, but she had to duck under again as the remaining slavers turned to fire on her. Wanting to be of use, Gray poked out again and fired another shot, this time better than the last but he still missed.

Realizing that being out in the open the way they were would spell disaster for them, the remaining slavers fell back and took cover behind one of their empty wagons. Rias tried to move to another location, but the five remaining slavers had her pinned down. _"Damn!"_ she thought as she tried to think of a plan to get out of their current situation. She heard Gray's rifle pop off another two shots and a shriek directly after the second shot. She risked looking over her boulder to see if Gray had gotten hurt and nearly had her head blown off. Regardless, she saw that her companion had actually managed to take out one of the slavers with those two shots. _"We just might make it out of this alive."_ She thought. _"That means there are only four of them left. That means if I—"_ her thoughts were cut off as she heard a barrage of gunfire, but this time it wasn't directed at her. _"Oh no—Gray!"_

The bullets punctured the log like a pencil through paper, and Gray was starting to run out of cover as he rolled to the right to avoid taking fire. With no rocks nearby, Gray didn't have very many options and it seemed like the slavers had all the damned ammo in the world as they continued to tear up the log with gunfire. _"Shit. Think! Think!"_ He pressured himself, trying to find a solution before he ended up looking like Swiss cheese.

Rias on the other hand was fast at work with a plan in her head. Sheathing her magnum, Rias pulled out her Assault Carbine and checked her clip. Satisfied with her bullet count, the silver-haired teen sprinted out of cover and took aim as she dashed for cover. The moment she ditched her cover, the two slavers pinning her down tried their best at gunning her down. While she very well could have dealt with the people shooting at her, Rias instead took aim at the two slavers that were focused on Gray.

 _One._ She counted as the first bullet missed its target.

 _Two._ The second shot was also a miss, but it snagged the attention of the two slavers that were dead set on eliminating Gray. Still needing to line up their shots, Rias knew that this next shot needed to hit its mark or else she'd be the one that ended up looking like Swiss Cheese.

 _Three._ She counted just as one of her attacker's shots hit her shoulder, causing hers to go wide. _"No…"_ she thought as she fell into cover behind a rock. Her carbine had fallen out of her hands the moment she took the shot and was now lying in the middle of the open. Blood oozed out of her wound and she felt a sharp stinging sensation, but that was the least of her worries as she thought about how she and Gray were going to make it out of this situation alive. _"If only I wasn't so impulsive, then maybe…"_ before she could finish the thought she heard sniper fire and two slaver's shouting before they were gunned down.

There was another sniper shot and at that moment, Rias knew that everything was going to be okay. "God damn it! Find that snipe—" the slaver never finished his sentence as a bullet passed through his skull.

"N-n-not like this! I'm out of here!" The last slaver cried as he threw up his rifle and ran away from the battle. He didn't get very far though as there was one more crack of sniper fire and he too died along with his friends.

At first Gray thought that the sniper was hostile, but when he heard the frightened screams of his enemies, he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked around to spot his and Rias' mysterious savior to find Rachel, perched on top of the hill alongside Thalia and the others. If it hadn't been for their intervention, he surely would have ended up dead. Rising to his feet, Gray did one quick check over himself before he ran over to where Rias was propped up against. Seeing the blood made him assume the worst, but when he got to her he saw that her injury wasn't all that bad.

"You alright?" he asked as he signaled for the others to come down.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks." She said half-mindedly, as she berated herself inwardly for being so reckless.

"Well that's good. Everyone is on their way down here now." He informed her as the team approached their location. Rachel was the first to speak up as she walked up to the scene, clearly not happy that her leader had been hurt.

"What happened?" She asked, a venomous tone in her voice.

"These slavers were getting ready to—" Gray began.

"And you just had to play the hero? What made you just run in there like that—"

"Rachel! That's enough! It wasn't his idea. It was mine." Rias revealed, leaving both of her teammates speechless.

"B-b-ut Rias, why?" Rachel asked, confused about why she didn't call for back-up first in a situation like this.

"Because I didn't think there would be enough time for back-up. I made a bad decision and now I paid the price for it. I was too hasty and now all we are left with is a bunch of dead bodies and no leads. I should have been more careful." Rias informed.

"I wouldn't say that." Gray joined in.

"Huh?" Rachel and Rias said in unison.

"The first guy I dealt with, he's laying right over there. Seems to me that he was the one calling the shots around here and something tells me he might prove useful to us." Everyone looked to see the unconscious slaver lying at the rock as Gray said he was. Seeing that made Rias a little better about her decision, as they can see if this guy knows anything about the upcoming slaver meeting.

"See, I knew I made a good choice in picking you guys. We'll just call this little scenario your initiation. Welcome to Binary Squad." Rias said with a large grin on her face. "Now, let's tie this guy up and see what we can find out. I have a feeling this is going to be good." Rias smiled devilishly as she wrapped a bandage around her wound.

Gray on the other hand was just happy that he made it out of the situation alive. Sure, the members of Binary Squad were a couple of weirdos, but at least they weren't shooting at him. _"Binary Squad._ " He said in his head, as he watched the rest of the group interact with one another. Even though they'd just met and they were at each other's throats to begin with, Gray couldn't help but feel like Rias may have actually been onto something in bringing their two teams together.

On one end you had the nutjob for a leader, a stone-cold sniper, and a gentle giant. Mix that with a green-eyed beauty, a wisecracking funnyman, and a giant nerd and what do you get? Some would say disaster, and they might be onto something there. See, they may not be the most well put together team or even the best team, but they were a team nonetheless. Were they an odd group? Sure. Were they the best group? Hell no. Would they live to see another day? Probably. And in the Wasteland, the last question was all that mattered.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"What is it that you have to show me Cain? Can it not wait?" Red said impatiently as he followed his second in command through the halls of his fortress.

"Trust me, you're going to want to see this." Cain answered vaguely, successfully keeping the Canonical Five leader in the dark. Red just sighed and decided to see what the fuss was about. It wasn't like Cain to get all riled up so he figured that whatever was in store for him would be worth taking a look at. They walked into a large room filled with surgical tables and all types of various machinery and tools. Red knew this place as Cain's Laboratory, but most of his colleagues had nicknamed the place the Devil's Workshop.

"Alright Cain, why have you dragged me here?" Red asked as they came to a stop at a particular desk that was facing away from him. One look at the desk and Red knew that this was another one of Cain's creations as this table was different from the rest. It had a more mechanical set-up and along the ground were dozens of plates of metal, screws, and other circuitry that looked top-of-the-line considering what most of Fallout's assets looked like.

Cain chose not to answer with words, opting to show his leader his next creation instead. With the push of a button, the mechanical table started to turn slowly. Red's second in command could hardly contain the excitement bubbling up inside him. Would he like it? Would he hate it? He was _dying_ to know what his leader thought. After a few seconds, the table came to a halt and Red's expression had remained the same.

"Cain, what am I looking at?" He asked, unsure of how he should react. If Cain was bothered, he didn't show it as he stood next to his latest project and began to explain.

"Sir, you are looking at our next move. This is the boss from Vault 616, Delta as he was called."

"And how does this," Red paused to gesture, "Delta have anything to do with our next move?"

"I was getting to that. See, so far we have been working in the shadows and that has helped us a lot in achieving our goals so far, but I can't help but feel like things are moving to slowly. So I took it upon myself to 'accelerate' some of the processes. Since our goal for now is to lay low, I figured I could let this little guy loose to wreak some havoc while we continue to work behind the scenes. I have repurposed Delta here in order to better suit our 'needs'. So all I need from you is the green light and we can get this show on the road." Cain explained.

"I see. Well, if it takes some of the dirty work out of our hands I don't see why not." Red replied.

"Glad you agree with my methods sir. Before you go however, there is still something that is bothering me. Seeing as how you came up with the Canonical Five, I was wondering if maybe you could help me give Delta here a new name." Cain admitted, hoping that Red could help solve his problem. Red's answer came after a brief pause.

"Call him Crow."

"Crow?"

"Yes, Crow." Red repeated.

"Crow it is then." Cain agreed happily.

"Alright if we are done here, wrap things up and meet me down in the armory along with the others." Red said as he turned to leave.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are we meeting up for sir?" Cain called out.

"The new recruits."

"New recruits?" Cain responded in confusion.

"Yeah, if we're going to see our plans through then we're going to need an army. A big one at that. I have some candidates for capable leaders in the midst down there. With your latest creation and the latest recruits doing our bidding, we should be just fine in watching from the shadows." Red answered just before he left the room.

Cain shook his head and laughed. It was funny how often he and Red were on the same page on things, albeit in their own unique ways. Maybe the fact that they were best friends had something to do with it. Whatever the case, if there was one thing that Red hated more than anything was to be kept waiting. He pushed the button to turn the medical table back to its original position and started packing things up in his lab. Before he left to meet up with the others however he did one last check up on his latest creation.

He ran one hand along his handiwork, a machine that was twice the size of a man and more powerful then anyone could imagine. Its body was humming gently, like it was in a deep sleep, waiting to be awakened. "It won't be long now Crow. Just a little bit longer and you can leave your nest, I promise." And with that, Cain left the room and turned out the light. The only thing that kept the darkness from swallowing up the entire room, was the dark red glow of the machine known as Crow.

A/N: _Annnnnd that's a wrap!_ _Wooh! And another chapter is in the books! Sorry to keep you waiting guys, the end of the semester and work really piled it on and I just couldn't find the time to write as much as I wanted to. It was a long process piecing this chapter together, but I'm glad that it's finally done! Let me know what you guys think and what you'd like to see more of! I know this chapter was as action heavy as I originally intended and is again a lot of dialogue, but as you can see more and more gears are turning! Anywho… REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!_

 _PortalSpartan888: Thank you! Yeah, to be completely honest character development is a little tricky. Seeing as how I am still developing as a writer I'm glad that I am doing a good job with fleshing out some of these characters. I have to say it is a lot different when you are doing original characters instead of using like Kirito or already developed characters! As for the ending, I do have a plan in mind but given that is still a ways away, you are just going to have to keep reading my friend! Don't worry though, the game will come to an end (or will it?) Haha! Thanks for the review! I really do appreciate it!_

 _MaxGentlman1: Okay, special shout-out for some of the dialogue scenes featured in this chapter! I have to say man, Ash is a riot and he is really fun to write. I'm almost tempted to make him the main character. (Almost) lol. With that being said, thank you for all of your suggestions and continued support of this story. It really motivates me to get my ass to writing! Haha! Thanks for the review!_

 _AKS-784: The action did come back here but it isn't as Michael Bayish as I may have liked. Still, I hope it was adequate and that you continue to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Speaking of which, what group are you interested in? Binary Squad? The Canonical Five? Maybe both? Lol. Anywho, yeah I've got some big plans for both of those groups so stick around! Thank you for your review and your continued support. Means a lot! I MEAN IT!_

 _**And this is where the reviews take a slightly different turn…_

 _Guest(BluntTruth): Pal, you left a mighty long review and I have to say…. Well thanks first of all. I mean I am open to any form of criticism but lets not confuse criticisms with assumptions. If you are going to call yourself the BluntTruth then please give me some facts and not some half-assed assumptions. There is a difference in telling the truth and in flaming, something you need to learn. I've seen some good writers go because of reviews like this and it really does tick me off. Furthermore, let me emphasize the point that I AM NOT FORCING ANYTHING. I would write this story regardless of whether it had one follower or a million followers because I love writing about these characters and this world, btw if you've played the games you should know how gory the game could be! So, if I ruined it for you, sorry man but let me tell you the Blunt Truth, this story is going to hit way more than 12 chapters… I'll be sure to message you when I get there!_

 _Boblets: You know, I can see where you are coming from given that this is really my first time building a character from scratch so now I ask you… what makes him/them shitty? I'd really like to know. I mean, like telling me they are shitty doesn't really help me do anything in developing their characters, but you know if you would maybe tell me why you think they are shitty then maybe I could make them better. That's just a big maybe though. Cause you know… just an opinion. Thanks for the review though!_

 _Jinin: None taken. Honestly though could you elaborate on that? As I said with old Boblets up top here, I mean telling me it kinda sucks doesn't help me do anything with my story. All I'm getting from you is that… it kinda sucks. Like what sucks? The plot? The characters? The dialogue? The action? I'm flying blind here man. Seriously. Still, I did say leave your comments though, so maybe I asked for vague reviews. Oh well, can't please everybody. Thanks for reading though and also for leaving a sucky comment!_

 _And that does it for reviews people! So I got my fair share of criticism this time around (if you could call it that) and I have to say it did make me go back and take a look at the elements of my story. Now don't worry, FO will continue but I did see some areas where I could improve and possibly rewrite. I'm still toying with the idea and I don't know if I'm going to re-do or touch up every chapter, but to those of you following/favorited this story I do believe that you guys deserve the best story possible and I want to hear what you all think. What should I work on? Should I leave it as is?_

 _With that being said, I will continue to debate the issue myself but I don't know I guess I'll figure it out eventually. Still, to all of you who are following and or have favorited this story, I give you the biggest thank you. Seriously, those favorites and follows mean a lot to us writers. Trust me. Alright well, I've left you possibly the biggest A/N ever so it's about high time I wrap this up. If any of you Wastelanders have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review. Take care, Frosty out!_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do _**NOT own Fallout or any of its characters nor do I own Sword Art Online or any of its characters. I do claim ownership of this story however!**_

 **Chapter 8: The Deal**

His eyelids were heavy and he felt like his body had just been put through hell but, that wasn't what was bothering him at all. Gray wasn't exactly feeling like himself and when he dozed off, he could've sworn it was around a campfire with the rest of Binary Squad with Kota declaring that he'd take the first watch. He wasn't even outside anymore. _"Where am I?"_ he thought.

Looking around, he saw that wasn't alone either. While he couldn't make out any faces, based off of their shapes and sizes Gray saw dozens of kids laying around him in tightly packed bunks in a room that was as muggy as it was dark. He tried commanding his body to move but it refused him and moved on its own accord. It was like he was in someone else's body, living out some sort of memory. _"I must be dreaming."_ That was the only rational way he could explain how he was feeling, but then again he knew that this was more than a dream. It felt too real.

He didn't get to reflect on the situation much longer either, as a door on the far right side of the room slid open and in came a bunch of strangely clothed people. The lights flickered on and Gray saw that they were in an all-white room with nothing but bunk beds and children. Everybody in the room couldn't have been older than thirteen. The rest of the children slid out of their beds quickly and saluted like they were in some sort of military drill camp. Gray had joined them involuntarily, as his body moved on its own and he discovered that he really was in someone else's body. Not only was he much shorter than before, but he had pale skin and much smaller hands and feet. Based on feeling alone, he could also tell that he wasn't in a male body. _"What the hell is going on? This has to be the weirdest dream that I've ever had…"_

The men cloaked in white walked down the rows of bunks, looking over each child one by one. Each time one of the men passed, Gray noticed that the children would let out a sigh of relief. _"Guess if they stop it's a bad thing."_ He realized as he watched the man coming down his row getting closer and closer. Suddenly there was an ear piercing scream as one of the men in the rows had come to a stop near a young boy with dark skin and a small unkempt afro.

"NO PLEASE! NOT ME! NOT ME! I'LL DO ANYTHING! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!" The boy begged. Gray watched the whole scene with a sense of helplessness and fear. He wanted to do something but, his body wouldn't listen. It was glued to the spot and all he could do was just watch as the man picked up the boy and carried him out of the room, all while the boy kept begging someone to trade places with him.

" _What the fuck is going on here? What is this!?"_ Gray thought angrily. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice that one of the men in white had stopped directly in front of him. When he felt the hand on his shoulder is when he realized that he too had been chosen. _"Oh shit."_ He thought as he finally saw his reflection in the golden visor of his kidnapper. He was in the body of a young girl with rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and long silky brown hair. She had a look of terror in her eyes, as Gray now understood exactly what she was feeling. Unable to move, he was hoisted off his feet and onto the man's shoulder. As much as he wanted to kick and squirm, his body was frozen in terror and given his size he doubted he could do much to the man carrying him anyway.

Who's ever body he was in had a much different reaction than the boy he had seen be taken away. The girl was quiet and didn't say anything as she was whisked away, but that didn't stop one boy from jumping out of line and standing his ground against the men in white.

"Put her down!" he commanded with tears in his eyes. "Take me instead! You've already taken her three times this week! She's had enough!" Even though he knew that this boy was talking about the girl he was seeing all of this through, Gray couldn't help but feel touched. While he didn't know what was happening, he knew that whatever was going on wasn't good. Every kid he saw in the room had a look of absolute fear in their eyes and these men in white hardly appeared like they were nice people.

"Stop. Please. It's going to be okay." The girl said weakly. Hearing the state that she was in had infuriated Gray to no end. He may not have understood the circumstances that he was in, but seeing the looks of pain and fear in the eyes of all these children made him want to rip apart whatever asshole was causing them to feel this way.

"No! Don't tell me that! You know it's not going to be okay! You don't have to pretend to be strong anymore. Just let them take me!" The boy yelled back in response. Before anything else happened two men in white subdued him albeit, with some difficulty. Gray was taken out of the room and down a long corridor that had dozens of other doors that led God knows where. They stopped at the far end of the corridor and proceeded into what looked like a large laboratory of some sorts. Gray was tossed carelessly onto an operating table and was strapped in before he could make a move to escape. Looking to his left and right he saw that he wasn't the only one who had ended up in this room either.

There were four other 'subjects' as he heard one of the men in white call them. His head had been strapped down before he could get a good look at all of them, but he did recognize the boy who'd begged not to be taken from earlier. He was shaking in his restraints but he was much more calm when compared to how he acted earlier. Gray also recognized several large supercomputers that were all placed behind each of the five operating tables. The giant machines 'hummed' loudly and beeped every so often, as if they were currently collecting data.

Nothing he was currently going through made any shred of sense. It was almost like he was watching one of those sick and twisted horror movies that Alyson seemed to love so much and that he was one of those unfortunate characters that wasn't going to make it to the sequel. The other kids next to him were sobbing softly and their whimpers only made him all the more uncomfortable. It didn't help that he could feel tears beginning to well up in his borrowed eyes. _"Wake up damn it!"_ he tried commanding himself. This girl's memory was proving to be far too much to bear for him and he just wanted it all to come to an end already. He didn't know how he would react if he saw any of these children go through anymore torment.

Gray heard a door slide open and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Naturally, he wanted to get up and look, but given that he didn't have any sort of control over his body and the fact that he was restrained he doubted he would ever catch a glimpse of the man responsible for this. Furthermore, a large helmet was placed on his head with a dark visor that felt strangely familiar. "I see that you've brought her again." He heard a voice call. Based on what he'd heard the boy named Travis say, he assumed that the man was addressing him.

"Yes sir. She is proving to be the most… successful subject." One of the men in white answered.

"Is that so? And why is that?" The man asked.

"Well, to be completely honest we don't really know what it is about her yet that allows her to outlast most of the other patients. Some of the scientists are working to analyze her brain waves to see if she has any—hidden abilities." The scientist responded.

"I see." The man paused and walked closer to Gray. "What is this one's name?" Although Gray couldn't see the man that was talking, he could feel his penetrating gaze through the helmet and visor.

"I don't know sir. She refuses to communicate with us. Everyone including the children just calls her Blue." The scientist reported.

"Oh? So we have a little rebel on our hands then?" The man had gotten closer to Gray, as his breath began to heat up the visor as he spoke. "We all know what happens to rebels here now don't we?" he asked rhetorically. Knowing he wouldn't receive an answer the man continued, "Prepare to run the experiment, except this time up the ante. I want to see her remain defiant after this."

Blue was trembling with fear and Gray was too. He heard the sound of some sort of reactor powering up and currents of electricity crackling behind him. Then Blue cried out as the world went dark and Gray did too, except when he screamed he awoke next to a campfire surrounded by his teammates. Sweat was pouring down his face and Gray raised his hands before his eyes. He was back in his own body again, but that whole experience had completely changed him. _"What the hell was that?"_ Just thinking about the memory sent a shiver down his spine.

"Bad dream?" Rias said from her position next to the campfire. She was leaning forward with her legs extended a little bit in front of her. In one hand she was jabbing at the fire with a stick to keep the flames going while the other she was using to prop herself up. The Binary leader had ditched her motorcycle armor and black jacket in exchange for a navy blue tank top but kept on her tactical pants and boots.

"I—uh—yeah." Gray answered awkwardly, unsure of how to explain what he had just went through. Looking around he saw that it was still night out and everyone else had been sound asleep. He was glad that his scream hadn't woken anyone up as he didn't want to disturb any of them.

"I see. I get them a lot too. Believe me." Rias replied as she dropped her stick casually into the flames and hugged her knees. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked coolly.

"Well to be honest, I don't really know how to explain it. It was like a memory, like I was living someone else's life." Gray opened up. At first he wasn't going to, but after some thought he figured that it'd be a good step in building their friendship.

"That's—interesting. What was it about?" she pressed for details. Gray then relayed the entirety of the dream to her excluding the fact that he was trapped inside a girl's body. He thought it'd be a little weird and given the absurdity of the dream itself, he didn't think it'd be that important anyways.

After Gray had finished, there was a brief silence as Rias absorbed every detail of the story and processed it. "That's er—quite a dream. And this is the first time that you dreamed something like this?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was unlike anything I've ever felt before. It was all so—real." Gray replied as he leaned back on his hands to stare up at the night sky. Even in Fallout's virtual landscape, the starry nights were just as beautiful as they were in the real world. Just looking up made him feel more relaxed as if he had never really left home. Seeing this, Rias decided to switch up the conversation.

"Beautiful tonight isn't it?"

"It sure is. Kind of reminds me of home." Gray answered. Rias nodded her head in approval and joined him in looking up at the stars. For a while the two of them were quiet, lost in their own thoughts as their eyes traced over the constellations. Gray would be the one to break the silence as he decided to see what else he could find out about his party leader. "So, how did you meet Kota and Rachel?" he asked.

It took Rias a second to break free from her stupor as she realized that she was being talked to again. Flashing a quick smile and clearing her throat, Rias took on a more relaxed position as well before she answered Gray's question. "Well Rachel and I have been friends for years. She was the one who got me into video games in the first place and Kota was someone that used to play with Rachel all the time. Eventually I got to know him better and we just kept playing together. Then the three of us ended up here, trapped like everyone else." She paused to stretch out before laying down on her own sleeping bag. "What about you, Ash, and Thalia? You guys seem to get along like we do, so does that mean you guys have played together before?"

Gray chuckled at her comment, causing Rias to raise a brow as she wondered what was so funny. "No." he explained. "We all met in-game."

"Oh really? That's cool I guess. Did you all come from the same Vault then?" she asked.

"Nope! I met Ash yesterday and Thalia just the day before. To be honest, we aren't really friends with one another either. I mean, I think we just kind of banded together because the situation sort of called for it." Gray replied.

"I wouldn't say that. When we came up on you guys the three of you were prepared to have each other's backs if anything went down. You may not be friends but, you definitely aren't just a band of strangers either. I can see that you all genuinely do care about one another or else you wouldn't be putting yourselves in harm's way for each other. Seeing that in you guys was kind of the reason I decided to recruit you in the first place. No one else in the Wasteland that I've come across has shown that trait. You three were something special and I knew that the moment you got the jump on us." She complimented.

"Thanks." Gray said with a slight blush. He wasn't used to being complimented, especially when he really hadn't even done anything. Lucky for him, it was too dark out for Rias to notice the tint of red on his cheeks as he continued the conversation. "Speaking of which, if the three of you are after Brett then I take it you guys are a part of some guild then right?"

"How did you know that?" Rias asked curiously. Most people wouldn't have bothered to ask a question like that and would have just sent her and her squad on their way without so much as batting an eye.

"Well the fact that your squad has a name and that you are practically hunting bad players screams guild. Most players I know would try to avoid other players and stick to PvE questing to avoid any unnecessary conflict, but you guys are going straight for it. I knew that eventually a guild would form to deal with all of the player killers and other bad players, but I never thought that one would form up so soon." He elaborated.

"As perceptive as ever, huh?" Rias remarked, this time with a smile. At first she found this quality of Gray's to be annoying but when she thought about it, it saved her a lot of explaining and could prove to be useful later on down the road. "Yeah, Binary squad is a tactical team put together by the guild, New Horizon. Originally there were six of us, but due to some losses and lack of supplies the higher-ups decided that a squad of three would just have to do for now. Our squad is tasked with tracking down big name player Slavers and bringing them to justice."

"A tactical team? So that means that there are more squads then?"

"Yep. Before we departed there were at least six other active teams, each handling their own mission. Technically, Binary squad is the youngest and most ill-equipped of the teams but, the three of us are trying to make do. Having picked you guys up I hope that we can make some progress on our mission here." The difference in her voice was subtle, but Gray noticed it right away. She sounded disappointed and unsure of herself, something that was completely out of character for the silver-haired girl.

Instead of interrogating her to see what was bothering her, Gray decided to continue the conversation as it was. He figured that this way it may come out naturally and if it didn't then it wasn't that important. As harsh as it sounded, the group had enough problems already and it may be better for this one to be kept in the dark. "Only six other teams? So it isn't a very large guild then?"

"Quite the opposite. New Horizon is a very large guild. They have their own standing army and everything." Rias revealed.

"An army? How the hell did they manage to do that in so little time?" Gray asked.

"Well, you know how player guilds and faction guilds are different right?"

"Yeah, faction guilds are like the vanilla game guilds that everyone can join. Factions like the NCR, Brotherhood of Steel, the Enclave, Minutemen, Raiders, and the Railroad are some of the few that you can ally with to get armor sets, weapons, and other faction exclusive gear. Then you have player guilds which are pretty much groups of players who help each other on raids and make a little extra income on the side. They can also generate jobs and build settlements and what not." Gray explained.

"Mmhmm!" Rias nodded in approval. "So then, do you remember the beta that Bethesda had for this game about two months ago?"

"Yeah I do." Gray answered flatly. Of course he remembered it because he had to sit by and watch as everyone else played it but him. At the time he didn't have his Virtual Gear yet and he remembered watching all the livestreams wanting nothing more than to enter the Wasteland. Funny how things have changed since then.

"Well, that's where New Horizon originally started. Kota, Rachel, and I joined up back then and soon enough it was one of the biggest guilds in the game. Everyone wanted to be a part of it because of their custom gear and big contracts. Then they shut the beta down and most of the members stayed on and reformed as soon as this game launched. After those bastards revealed that everyone was stuck inside this hell hole, New Horizon quickly became one of the go-to guilds and as a result the guild organized itself quickly."

"If that's the case then why do they have such a small team searching for bad players? No offense to you or your friends, but wouldn't it make more sense to send larger teams out to stop all of this?" Gray argued.

"None taken and I agree with you to an extent. I think that New Horizon should look into putting more squads like ours into circulation because it would help speed along the process of justice, but at the same time I understand why they don't. See, I don't have to tell you that the Grand Wasteland is a dangerous place. Even the most veteran of Fallout players can fall prey to some of the enemies lurking around and that's without the bad players. Bethesda made it so that the Grand Wasteland would be a challenging place for millions of players. That's why the army is focused on making the Wasteland a safer place. Even as it is now, there are very few settlements that exist when compared to the overrun cities filled with Super Mutants, Ghouls, and who knows what other horrors. As big as they are now, it would still take them years to completely clear out the Wasteland so that's why our squads exist. Fortunately for us, there aren't a whole lot of bad players in the Wastes but on the flipside, if we were to stumble upon a much larger operation then we wouldn't stand much of a chance." Rias shared.

" _Not a lot of bad players…"_ the phrase seemed too good to be true to Gray. After what he witnessed in his own Vault and the complete take-over of Fallout Online by a mysterious organization, he sincerely doubted that they were dealing with a handful of criminals. "Makes sense I guess, but what happens when the slavers are taken care of? Do we just head out to the front lines then?"

"We could technically do that or we could continue to operate on our own terms." Rias answered.

"How so?" Gray questioned.

"Well our squads operate independently of New Horizon. Our only real objective is to make sure that the Wasteland is a safer place for everyone. Binary can go where we are needed and take on our own missions and contracts. Really, the only benefit that comes with being a part of New Horizon, at least for us is the gear and in being able to rest up at any of their safehouses." Right after she finished talking Rias let out a big yawn, signaling to Gray that their conversation was nearing its end. "Ooo! That was a good talk, but I don't think I can keep my eyes open for much longer. I know Rachel was supposed to take the next shift but, since you are already awake, do you mind taking the next watch?" she asked sleepily.

"Not at all. Go ahead and get some rest." Gray said as he got up and stretched his legs.

"Thanks, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. First we stop at Anthem and then we'll see about that lead that the Slaver gave us. Goodnight Gray, see you in the morning." Rias finished off as she wrapped herself snugly in her sleeping bag.

"Night." Gray responded casually, as he remembered the Slaver that they interrogated. He shivered as he recalled the interrogation session that Rias and Rachel had put that poor slaver through. _"I mean he did deserve it, but still… those two can be pretty scary when they want to be."_ He thought with a small smile. _"Glad that I can call them my teammates… and maybe one day, friends."_ Returning his gaze to the stars, Gray sat in wait for the sunrise that would mark yet another day in the Wasteland.

 _ **Later that day…**_

The heat waves almost made them feel like they were imagining it. If not for their Pip-Boy's, the members of Binary squad wouldn't have known if they were looking at a mirage or the real thing. The town of Anthem wasn't the most eye-catching of places, as it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The town had one road running through the middle of it and several weathered and beaten buildings scattered haphazardly around the small settlement. The largest of the structures was an apartment complex that was four stories tall in the center of town. Then, surrounding the apartment complex were dozens of tents and crudely crafted shacks that served as the town's marketplace. NPC's and players alike were scuttling around from place to place making the unimpressive settlement look extremely busy. "Please tell me they have A/C in those buildings." Thalia remarked as she walked along with the rest of her team.

"I know they call it virtual reality, but did they have to make it so damn realistic!? I swear I'm going to melt in this god damn heat!" Ash yelled as they entered the town limits. Gray and the others all nodded their heads in agreement but didn't say anything as they came to a stop at the center of town. As everyone sat down to take a breather, Rias decided it was the best time to relay her plan to the rest of the group.

"All right, listen up! I know that all of you are tired from the trip but we still have work to do. To make things run a little faster, we're going to split up. Rachel, Kota, and I are going to check on that lead the Slaver gave us while you three stock up on any supplies you may need. Whenever you guys are done, just be sure to meet us back at this spot alright?" When she got the acknowledgment she needed from Gray and his group, Rias and her team disappeared into the town to handle their end of the plan.

With no need to stick together to go shopping, Gray, Thalia, and Ash split up to sell the stock that they had compiled from earlier. Ash was the quickest to sell all of his wares as his mind was dead-set on satisfying his thirst. After some quick searching, Ash ended up at a player merchant's drink stand. "One Nuka-Cola please!" he said as he slammed down 5 caps on the counter. The man behind the counter grunted, but nonetheless served the sugary beverage to his waiting customer. Just before Ash had put his hands on it however, the man pulled it back and snarled. "Hey man! What gives?" The drink vendor said nothing as he pulled a cup from beneath his stand and poured a small portion of the drink into it. Ash watched the whole scene with a wild look on his face as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What the shit is this!?" he remarked on the insignificant serving he had just received.

"Your drink. If you want the rest, fifty caps!" The man demanded as he held onto the icy cold soda.

"Fifty caps! Who in their right mind would pay fifty caps for a freaking soda!?" Ash said incredulously as he yelled back at the cranky vendor.

"Fifty caps or no sale!" The man held firm on his pricing.

"Listen here you little—I just walked four miles in this blistering heat and I'm not really in the mood to deal with your bullshit. If you think that I'm paying fifty caps for a little 12 oz drink then you're batshit crazy!"

The vendor's face twisted into a scowl and before Ash could react, he snatched the small serving out of his hands before he could drink it. "Now you get nothing!" the vendor teased as he downed the little serving of Nuka-Cola and closed up the rest of the bottle and put it back under the counter.

"Oh you're going to regret that." Ash said, his voice bordering on potent rage.

"You don't scare me." The vendor shot back as he pushed Ash away from the stand.

"Did you just push me?" Ash asked, dangerously close to losing it.

"I did. The hell are you going to do about it?" The soda vendor said with a puffed chest.

"What am I going to do about it? That's a good—" Ash didn't finish his sentence as he leapt over the counter faster than the vendor anticipated, sending both of them crashing to the ground. Lucky for Ash, no one else was around to see the commotion they were causing as he wrestled with the vendor around his shack.

"You dumb son of a bitch! You're going to regret that!" The vendor roared as he threw empty Nuka-Cola bottles at Ash. Shielding himself as best he could, Ash pushed forward and tackled the shopkeep into the counter. The Nuka vendor proved to be more capable than Ash had originally thought as he outmaneuvered himself from being pinned and somehow ended up in his back.

"What the fuck are you!" Ash yelled as the man was screeching incoherently. The vendor had wrapped his legs around his waist and was trying to choke Ash out, but our loud-mouthed hero had other plans as he backpedaled into a nearby wall. The sudden impact was enough to put Ash's opponent in a daze, allowing him to throw the vendor off of his back. "Little spider-monkey!" he quipped as the vendor crashed into the wall and landed on the floor.

Rebounding quickly, the Nuka shopkeeper took on an offensive stance and swung away at Ash. The Binary inductee leaned back to avoid the wild swings and stepped in after the fourth miss to get in a punch of his own. The attack was enough to put some distance between the two, giving both combatants some time to catch their breaths.

"Look at you, coming into my store and making this mess because you can't afford to pay for a drink! What a pathetic piece of trash." The man snarled.

"Oh you've gone and done it now. You best believe that you're gonna get your monkey ass-whooped." Ash shot back.

The marketplace was a relatively noisy place, but for the next five minutes almost everyone had heard the breaking of glass, muffled insults, and some weird screeching that seemed to be coming from a run-down soda shop. Too bad everybody was too preoccupied with their own business to investigate, because they would have been in for one hell of a scene.

One thing was for sure and that was that the soda shop looked nothing like it did before Ash had come up to it. The small shack was dented at several places and most of the store's contents were strewn about the floor. The wooden chair that had been in the corner was smashed to pieces and the sign was dangling a little bit over the counter that had its owner draped over it.

Having won the fight, Ash strolled over to the counter and casually dropped his unconscious opponent onto the floor. He reached down and grabbed the Nuka-Cola that had been taken from him and popped it open, downing the carbonated beverage in one big gulp. "Ahh." He said, clearly refreshed. "Wrong price bitch." Ash remarked, tossing the bottle carelessly next to the shopkeep. Looking out from the counter, Ash saw that no one was around and capitalized on the opportunity by casually slipping a couple of Nuka-Cola's into his inventory for later. Having finished his "business", he made a quick exit and continued to browse the large marketplace hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with any more unreasonable player merchants.

Anthem proved to be much bigger than Gray had originally anticipated. The marketplace had spanned much farther than just the apartment complex, going as far as the edge of the town limits as player merchants competed with one another to make a couple of caps. Merchants would holler out into the tightly packed streets, "Guns! Get yer guns here! No one has a better selection than me!"

"Those other vendors are full of it! Get your weapons here! I guarantee that they are the best in the entire Wasteland!"

"Armor so strong that a Deathclaw wouldn't even be able to put a scratch on ya!"

While Gray knew that most of these claims were exaggerated, he couldn't help but be drawn to the armor shop. He was the only member of the group who didn't have any sort of armor equipped, having only a plain black t-shirt and jeans as his outfit. Even the Regulator outfit that he'd been given as a reward at the start of the game was stripped from his inventory. He figured that if he wanted to last in the Wasteland he was going to have to upgrade sometime. After all, it wasn't like he was bulletproof.

"Hello! What can I do for you today?" The vendor greeted him with a warm smile.

"I'd like to have a look at your stock." Gray answered quickly. He could already feel his caps calling out to him, like they were begging to be spent. He'd sold all the loot from the apartments for a hefty nine hundred caps and as far as he was concerned, that was quite a chunk of change.

"Okay then. Anything in particular that you are looking for? Heavy? Medium? Light?" the armor vendor asked.

"Let's start with heavy." He answered. While he wasn't particularly fond of the heavy armor sets because of their weight, Gray figured that if his life was on the line then he'd sacrifice a silly preference.

"Going for a tank build I see? Well don't you worry my friend, I've got everything you need!" The player vendor chimed as he opened up his inventory for Gray to see. The first thing the black haired teen noticed wasn't even the different variety of gear that this player had available, but rather the ludicrous price tags attached to them.

" _12,000 caps for a Raider Power Helmet? That thing better be diamond encrusted for that price."_ His eyes fell down the list catching similar prices for items that weren't even worth 100 caps. _"6,000 caps for a metal chest piece? Who the hell is this guy trying to fool? Any decent Fallout player knows that these things at best are worth a couple hundred caps. How is he expecting to sell anything with prices this high? No one in this game could possibly have those kind of caps."_

"See anything you like?" The vendor chimed in, bringing Gray out of his thoughts.

"Ummm—yeah come to think of it, heavy has never really been my style. Can I see what you've got for medium armor?"

"Sure thing! Just one sec!" The merchant agreed happily.

" _Hopefully the medium armor he has will be cheaper because if it not then I'm sure that all of his prices are going to be out of wack. I wonder if all player merchants are like this?"_ he thought as the vendor pulled up the medium armor inventory. Almost instantly, Gray's eyes fell toward the NCR Veteran Ranger armor set and he knew that set was going to be the one. He could already see himself wandering the wastes in the LA riot gear, classic jeans, and the iconic duster and helmet lending out a helping hand to all those who needed it.

Then he saw the price.

" _20,000! Who the hell has 20,000 caps!"_

"I see that you've taken a liking to the NCR set. You've definitely got good tastes my friend, that is a very popular item."

"I can imagine. It's one of the most iconic armor sets in Fallout." Gray responded, knowing that this merchant was going to say whatever it took to get the sale. Maybe that would work in his favor, but then again, the best offer he could make would be 19,000 caps less than what the guy was asking for.

"Oh yeah, it's badass. Want me to ring it up for you?"

Gray leaned on the counter and scratched the back of his head. He really wanted the armor set, but he knew that he couldn't afford it. He also didn't want to lowball the guy either, but as he looked over the rest of the prices Gray found that he wouldn't even be able to afford any of the medium armor that the guy was selling.

"Umm—not right now. No." Gray paused for a second to gather his thoughts. Feeling he needed to address the elephant in the room, Gray decided it was best to get to the bottom of the overpriced goods. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking, why are the prices so high for some of these items?"

"I'm not following." The merchant responded, all while maintaining the salesman smile.

"Well, you're charging 5,000 caps for heavy leather armor."

"Yes, that's completely reasonable." The merchant argued.

"It's just a chest piece. With no upgrades." Gray pointed out. He looked up and waited for the merchant to come up with a reason for his schemes. That's when he noticed it. The vendor had backed into a corner and was mumbling something to himself low enough that Gray was unable to hear. That wasn't what was bothering the black-haired teen however, as the entire time the merchant was jittering like he was jacked up on a lethal amount of caffeine. "Hey—uh—are you—" Gray didn't finish his sentence as a tall and burly man entered the shop and slammed his hands down on the counter.

"There you are!" the man said as he leapt over the countertop and pulled the jittering armor merchant up by his shirt.

"Ah! Don't hurt me please!" he begged.

"What the hell man?" Gray yelled out as his hand slowly started to reach for the rifle on his back.

"Shut the hell up! You're going to tell me what I want to know or I'm going to break you in two!" The man barked at the merchant. "And you," he stopped and looked over towards Gray. "This doesn't concern you, so I suggest you leave." He hissed. The man had broad shoulders and a muscular build. He had his blonde hair combed over the right and dark brown eyes with a face that screamed business.

"I'm not going anywhere." Gray stood firm and unsheathed his Radium Rifle. At his current range, he doubted he would miss and the other player must've known it too, because he slowly let the merchant down.

"You dare point your gun at me kid? You are aware that this is a safe zone aren't you?" The man's tone was taking on a dangerous twist and suddenly Gray was starting to feel like he may have made a costly decision here.

"Yeah I know, but my intention never was to kill you. Now unless you want a nasty bullet wound, I suggest you step away from the merchant." Although he knew that this player was much stronger and probably a higher level than he was, Gray masked his fear and raised the rifle.

The man snarled and released the vendor to the floor, but not before he got a cheap shot in by head-butting the poor guy. Then before Gray knew it, the man was back over the counter barreling towards him.

" _Damn this guy is fast!"_ Gray thought as the rifle was slapped out of his hands and he was pinned against the wall.

"This'll teach you to point your gun at me, kid!" he roared as his fist smashed into the bare wall. There was a look of confusion on his face as Gray had managed to slip away just before he pummeled his face.

" _But I'm faster."_ Gray thought as he roundhouse kicked the man into a table. Now that they were engaged in a duel, he finally knew the name of his opponent and his level. _"Leon."_ He read as his opponent was getting to his feet. _"This guy is as high a level as Rias. I won't last very long in a prolonged fight and without a weapon. I just need to keep my distance and be patient."_ Gray strategized.

"You got lucky kid. It won't happen again." Leon said as he wiped the blood off of his mouth. Instead of charging straight in like last time, Leon took a stance and cautiously approached Gray like a boxer. Taking a stance of his own, Gray put his years' worth of self-defense knowledge to use as circled around the small store, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. "What you got cold feet or something? Hit me." Leon taunted. Gray didn't take the bait and kept his distance, angering his blonde foe more so than he already had. "I swear, pussies like you make me so mad. Actin' so damn tough but, when the time comes to man up and do something you just sit around and wait for something to happen."

Gray chuckled. "Are we fighting or talking?"

"That's it." Leon stepped forward with a vicious right hook. Luckily Gray ducked low and countered with a good blow to the stomach. Leon reeled back from the hit but recovered quickly by going for a sweep that knocked Gray down to the floor. Gray had enough sense to roll away as soon as he made contact with the floor, but just as he got to his feet he took one right to the jaw. He backpedaled into a table and right as Leon came at him with another jab he stepped to the right and grabbed onto his forearm, using his opponent's momentum to slam him into the table.

Leon let out a loud _oof!_ —as his abdomen met the belly of the table. Gray still had a hold of his arm and was going to move in to try and subdue him, but Leon pushed off the table with his free hand pulling Gray off balance. As he stumbled forward, Gray was running straight into a left fist. Fortunately, he was able to regain his balance in time to catch the attack that would have more than likely put him to sleep, giving him control over both of his opponent's arms. Seeing an opportunity for escape, the merchant leapt over the counter and bolted out of the door without any hesitation. Having lost sight of what he originally came for, Leon let out a frustrated warcry as he head-butted Gray and kicked him onto the store floor.

Right as Gray recovered, he caught a glimpse of his opponent leaving the store in pursuit of the armor merchant. _"Here we go."_ He thought as he followed after them, hoping that he could get there before Leon got his hands on him.

"I can't believe it was a dead end." Rias said in frustration as she walked back to the meet-up point with Rachel and Kota.

"Well what did you expect? I can't say that I'm surprised. Why would such a big slaving operation run through this dump?" Rachel said as she walked over a pile of trash. The trio took their time in walking through the marketplace, clinging to some hope that they'd overhear something about the lead that the slaver had given him. With any luck they may have even run into the man that they were looking for.

"Are you sure that the slaver we interrogated was even talking about the same Brett? What if it was someone else entirely?" Kota pointed out.

"That may be true. Then there is also the possibility that the guy was just bullshitting. I mean it wasn't like he was a big name slaver or anything and Brett operates on a whole different level. This was all just a big waste of time." Rias sighed as she plopped down on a bench in the middle of town square.

"I wouldn't say that. We still have the information that Thalia gave us about the meeting in Silverfort and we can stock up on some much needed supplies here." Rachel tried to cheer up her friend.

"Yeah, yeah I guess so. If **he** was still in charge we'd have shut down the whole operation already. As a matter of fact, I bet he already has." Rias grumbled.

"Oh come on Rias, don't be like that. We weren't even a full squad when we set out on this mission and we aren't necessarily equipped for the job, but hey we're here and at least we are doing the best we can. You're a damn good leader Rias. Don't be so hard on yourself." Rachel argued.

It was then that Ash walked up to join the group with his casual stride and carefree demeanor. "Hey guys! Back so soon eh? I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you guys didn't find anything." When nobody answered him Ash figured that he was spot-on in his assessment. "Sore subject? Well, I've got something else for you then, if you're willing to listen."

"Really? And what exactly did you find?" Rias asked, hoping that she'd get some good news for a change.

"Well, I went into the marketplace expecting to trade some goods and maybe resupply myself, but for some weird reason everything in this town is so god damned overpriced."

"Are you sure you're just not cheap?" Rachel jumped in.

"Hey, can it Blondie. I'd like to see you pay 1,000 caps for 20 rounds of 10MM ammo." Ash shot back.

"1,000 caps? And you didn't just read the price tag wrong?" Kota said with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, I can read you know. Dicks." Ash huffed.

Before anymore banter could take place, Rias entered the conversation. "Now that you mention it, I did see a couple of items that had some… interesting prices to say the least. Was this at every store or just a couple?" Rias asked.

"Everywhere I went the prices were sky-high. It was like I was shopping at Gucci or something. I'm telling you guys, something isn't right here."

"Hmm, maybe the people around here are strained for supplies. You have to remember that this town is the only safe zone for a couple of miles. They'd be lucky to get trade caravans every week. The roads to get here aren't exactly the safest and with these slavers running around snatching people up, I'm not surprised they are charging so much for items. They may need them more than we do." Rias' explanation didn't sit well with Ash, who was still upset at the merchants in town.

"Okay, let's say that what you said is true, why would they sell things that they need in the first place? If that's the case then why even have a marketplace at all? Surely they must know that there isn't a damned person in this game that can afford any of their merchandise. If you ask me, I'd say that everybody in this town is just money hungry." Ash retorted.

"Yeah well maybe—" Rias began, but she stopped the moment her eyes fell on Gray's health gauge. His health had dropped into the red and while she knew that they were in a safe zone, that didn't stop slavers and other players from whisking him away or stealing his items. Everyone else had seen it to and were awaiting Rias' orders to swarm the position before it was too late. She pulled up her map to check his last known location and when she pinpointed it, she motioned for the others to follow after her.

" _God, I hope I'm not too late. I don't want to lose anyone else…"_ she thought as the rest of Binary squad made their way into the marketplace.

Gray dipped into another alleyway hoping to cut Leon off at the upcoming intersection. His choice would prove to be worthwhile as he came out of the alleyway just as Leon was rounding the corner. Right when he was about to move to intercept however, Gray was blindsided by an unknown foe and tumbled out of the way of his target. As he was rolling he caught a glimpse of Leon's smirking face before he came to a stop at the edge of the curb.

"Sorry about that pal, but I'm afraid the boss doesn't want you interfering any longer." Came a distorted voice. At first Gray thought that it might have been a synth, but when he finally got a view of his new opponent, he understood why the voice was all funky. Clothed in road leathers and an assault gas mask, Gray didn't know much about his opponent besides the fact that he was male and he was currently wielding a very large machete. Just as he was about to respond, Gray felt a wire wrap around his neck and he was pulled back by another unseen foe. To make matters worse, three more people dropped in just behind the guy who had blindsided him and they didn't look like they were coming to his rescue. "Great timing Violette. Now we got this poor bastard right where we want him." Although he couldn't see his face, Gray could already tell that this guy was grinning from ear to ear.

"Just get this over with before anybody sees. We only have to incapacitate him long enough for the boss to get the information we need." Violette said from behind him. Tightening her hold on the wire, she pulled Gray back closer to her in an effort to prevent any kind of resistance.

"Alright, alright, jeez I'll gut the kid already. Do you always have to be such a buzz kill?" The guy with the assault mask said as he walked up with his machete. "Listen man, no hard feelings or anything alright? This is just business is all." He said with a chuckle. Gray struggled against Violette's wire, but as much as he tried to break free, the tighter Violette pulled. At this rate he didn't know if he'd succumb to Gas mask's machete or asphyxiation. "I want to say that I'm sorry about this, but I'm really not. Hold still kid, this is gonna hurt."

The machete was coming in quick and if Gray didn't act fast then he'd be in for a world of hurt. With only one option left Gray leapt up and kicked outward with his feet, catching the machete wielder in the chest. The momentum of the kick was enough for him to knock Violette off balance as she tripped on the curb and he landed right on top of her. Having had the wind knocked out of her from the fall, her hold on the wire loosened giving Gray the opportunity he needed to escape. The lone Binary Squad member wasted no time in sprinting off after Leon. Even though he was outnumbered, Gray couldn't just let these people take advantage of the merchant.

"Do you see what happens when you run your mouth Locke!? He got away!" Violette scolded the gas mask wearing goon.

"Like hell he did, what are the rest of you waiting for? After him!" he yelled as he jumped to his feet. Violette only shook her head and dusted herself off before she too, joined in the pursuit.

Gray had run like he'd never run before, weaving his way through crowds of people as he tried to give his pursuers the slip. The task itself however, was proving to be much easier said than done on the narrow streets of Anthem. Luckily for Gray however, the huge crowds of people were enough to slow the goons chasing him and also allowed him to catch up with Leon. The leader of the gang was slowly but steadily gaining on the merchant and if Gray didn't break away soon then his whole ordeal would have been for nothing.

He was so focused on catching up with Leon that he failed to notice the shadow that was trailing him from the rooftop. Before Gray knew what had hit him, he was tumbling yet again except this time he knew what he was up against. Using his legs, Gray successfully launched his attacker into one of the nearby merchant stalls. The commotion had stirred up some of the surrounding citizens who were now starting to back away in panic. When Gray rose to his feet, he'd found that his luck had run out and he was surrounded by all five of his pursuers.

"Thought you could give us the slip, eh?" Locke mocked as he unsheathed his machete. "You know, I was going to take it easy on you, but since you decided to cause us so much trouble I'm going to make you regret the day you ever logged into this game. GET HIM!" he barked.

Gray's first instinct was to try and escape but each of his opponents had their respective route locked down, making sure that this time he wouldn't slip away. _"Damn it. There's too many of them. Where is everyone else?"_ he thought. Left with only one option, Gray raised his fists and prepared to defend himself as best as he could.

"Aww, look guys, he's going to 'defend' himself. Look kid, why don't you make this easy on yourself and just give up already? There's no way you're going to win this fight." Locke teased.

"Go to hell." Gray answered defiantly.

"Suit yourself. Let's show him what happens when you miss with Sabres." Locke said cockily. The group moved in and Gray tried to figure out from which angle to defend himself first. His first opponent was a goggles wearing teen in a pre-war vest and slacks. Gray stepped out of the way of his right hook and used the same moved that he'd used on Leon earlier to throw him into one of his other teammates. Gray was fast enough to dodge Violette's roundhouse and their main muscle's power punch, but he couldn't avoid Locke's machete.

The steel blade had sliced across his shoulder, tearing his shirt and leaving a nasty scar in its place. Blood dripped from the wound and Gray cried out in pain as he backed away from his opponents and placed a protective hand over his new injury. Gray's healthbar made a sudden appearance and he saw that the attack had drained a quarter of his HP.

"Looks like we got him now. Dante! Rex! Finish this!" Locke ordered as their largest member stepped forward and the guy with the goggles that Gray had thrown earlier got to his feet. Wanting revenge for being outmaneuvered earlier, Dante raced forward with his knife drawn. Gray held still and waited for the right moment to make his move.

"I'm going to cut you down!" Dante screamed maniacally.

" _Not yet… he isn't close enough."_ Gray thought as he watched him close in. _"Closer…"_ he waited. _"Just a little more…. NOW!"_ Gray removed his blood soaked hand from his shoulder and flung some of his fresh blood into the eyes of his oncoming opponent. The surprise attack was enough to stop Dante in his tracks, but unfortunately for Gray, Rex was there to take his place.

As big as Kota was, Gray knew that one punch from this adversary and he'd be out cold. He ducked and rolled away from what would have been bone-breaking punches, only to end up in combat with Violette. The purple-haired girl came in with a furious kick but, unfortunately for her, Gray caught the kick just before it connected with his skull and swung her around until he threw her into Rex. The behemoth caught her without an issue and Gray soon found himself engaged with another opponent. An agile female that easily dodged his attacks and countered with well-placed blows of her own. Still, Gray wasn't about to go down this soon and managed to land a crushing right hook that knocked his opponent to the floor. Locke stepped up next and took Gray to the floor. The sudden impact was enough to open up Gray's wound even more and he howled out in agony. Taking advantage of Gray's weak spot, Locke focused his attacks on his shoulder.

Gritting his teeth and despite the pain, Gray retaliated with a straight punch to Locke's jaw and a kick to throw him off. Before he could get to his feet however, Gray was grabbed by Dante and Rex and held up for the rest of the Sabres to do as they pleased with.

His health had already fallen to half at this point, Gray tried to shake free of his opponent's grips. Because of the blood on his left slide, Dante couldn't maintain his grip and Gray managed to bring the goggle wearing teen in for a head-butt that knocked him on his ass. Rex however, still had his hold on Gray and answered Gray's show of defiance with a ruthless blow to his stomach. Gray's feet had lifted off the ground and he flew a few feet back where he landed against a streetlight pole.

His vision was beginning to blur and the little Vault-Boy had appeared on his screen, telling him that he'd broken two ribs because of that last hit. He coughed up a little bit of blood as he was now down to a quarter health and Locke was quickly approaching. With what little strength he had left, Gray moved out of the way of the machete strike aimed for his head and slammed Locke's face against the very pole he was resting on. Dazed from the attack, Locke was unable to defend himself from Gray's right handed blow to his nose. Locke screamed out in pain as his nose broke and he fell back onto the dirt roads of Anthem. Before Gray could move away however, he felt Violette's wire wrap around his neck yet again this time however, she trapped him against the pole.

Gray wouldn't get to attempt to break free this time as Rex stepped up to deliver a crushing blow to his temple. Violette let go of her wire as Gray landed hard on the ground floor, no longer able to fight back. His ears were ringing and he could barely see anymore. From what he could make out, Gray saw Locke approaching with his machete out.

"You little bitch! I'm going to make you fucking pay for breaking my nose!" Locke roared as he grabbed Gray by the collar and raised his machete. "I know this won't kill you… but at least you won't be recovering anytime soon." He snarled.

" _Let me help you…"_ Gray heard an unfamiliar voice call within his head.

" _Wha—what?"_ he stammered.

" _Let me take the pain away. Let me make all these bad people go away. Will you let me?"_ the voice asked soothingly.

" _Le—le—let you? Who—who are you?"_ Gray asked in confusion.

" _I can be your friend if you let me. I want to help. Please, let me help you."_ The voice said.

Right then, Gray heard another voice, this time one that wasn't coming from inside his head.

"Five against one is hardly fair now is it?" a male voice said from behind him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Locke said as he let Gray fall back to the floor.

"Your worst nightmare." The voice answered, except this time it sounded like a woman.

"Listen, I don't know who the fuck you think—" Locke's sentence was interrupted by a loud scream as Gray heard the sound of breaking bone. He heard footsteps rush over to where Locke was and the sound of knives bouncing off one another and dirt being kicked up.

" _What—what's going on?"_ Gray thought, barely clinging to consciousness.

" _A Lost One has come to help you."_ The voice in his head answered.

" _A Lost One? What's a Lost One?"_ Gray asked but received no reply. The voice in his head had vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. The fighting had also come to a stop and Gray found himself being lifted up and hoisted onto someone's shoulder. His mysterious savior walked for a little while up the street and deposited him at what he guessed was a player-run clinic.

"Oh my god what happened?" he heard the nurse call.

"I don't know, I just came up on the scene and found the boy like this. Please take care of him. Here, I'll pay for the services." His savior lied. Gray noticed again that the voice sounded different from before. It was almost like the person that saved him was using a different voice for every conversation.

"That's very generous of you. We'll take him in and patch him up right away. A stimpak and one days rest should be enough to—" the nurse paused briefly, "um—where did he go?" Gray heard her ask. He assumed that she was talking about the man-or-woman that had just saved him from spending a week in the clinic.

Right as he was beginning to lose consciousness, Gray heard the voices of Rias and the rest of Binary Squad approaching. _"There they are."_ He thought with a small smile before he slipped away into the darkness.

"What in the hell happened here?" Rias asked the nurse angrily.

The nurse raised her hands defensively and shook her head, "I don't know! This mysterious man came by and just dropped him off here I swear!"

"Well did you get a good look at his face or what?" Ash asked.

"N-n-no. He was wearing a mask and was dressed in all black—and he—disappeared before I could ask him anything." The nurse stammered.

Rias walked over and examined Gray's beaten body. He'd had a black eye, a busted lip, two broken ribs and a nasty looking cut over his left shoulder. The nurse's report also said he had a bruise on his stomach and it looked like someone attempted to strangle him.

"Who would ever do something like this in a safe zone?" Rias asked in pure rage. Her fists were trembling and she could hardly keep still.

"I don't know, but whoever did is going to pay." Ash said as he too was itching to find the group who had put Gray in such a state.

"Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we have a problem." Rachel spoke up.

"Now what?" Rias said in irritation.

"Whoever did this could still be lurking out there and Thalia is all alone." Rachel informed the rest of the group.

"Shit!" Rias said in realization. "You three go see if you can find her before it is too late." She ordered.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Kota asked as Rias was preparing to leave the room.

"To find the asshole that did this." Rias said before she disappeared into the streets of Anthem.

"Damn it! Why does she get to have all of the fun? Shouldn't one of us go to help her? I mean you saw what they did to Gray. Who knows what she could be up against!?" Ash tried to reason. Kota just shook his head, telling him that it was pointless to argue. Once Rias made up her mind there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

"Rias can handle herself. Now come on, let's go find Thalia before it really is too late. The map says she was last seen at a weapons shop just east of here." Rachel said as she lead the group out of Gray's room. Even though she tried to sound like she wasn't worried about Rias, Ash could tell that Rachel wanted to go and back up her friend as much as he did. Still, if Rachel trusted her that much then he didn't see why he had any reason to doubt her either. Having nothing else to say, Ash followed quietly behind Kota and Rachel in their hunt for Thalia.

The green-eyed beauty had a productive day of shopping in her brief time in Anthem. While she did find a couple of stores that had ridiculously priced items, she found that her charm (and overall good looks) often helped her get the bargains that she wanted. Her inventory was already halfway full with all the stuff that she bought and she still had quite the pocketful of caps to keep on shopping. With no reason to quit just yet, Thalia decided to hit the last couple of shops on the east end before she headed back to the meet-up point.

The first store she came across was a clothing store. Unlike most shops in Anthem, this was an NPC run store and like every other shop like it had already been picked clean by the players. Seeing no reason why she should waste her time there, Thalia strolled over to a weapons shop on the opposite end of the street. It was then that she got this strange feeling that she was being watched. Instinctively, she looked around the crowd of players surrounding her and ultimately, didn't find anyone suspicious. Chalking it up to her imagination, Thalia walked into the weapons shop and started to browse. She wasn't surprised to find that the prices were high as that was the case of all shops in Anthem for some reason. She was taken by surprise however, when she heard a voice call behind her, one that she immediately recognized.

"Well, well, well—if it isn't Thalia."

She whipped around at lightning speeds and out of pure reflex had pulled out her pipe pistol. Her sights were already locked onto his head and if she pulled the trigger here and now, then Brett would be no more.

"Hey now, is that anyway to treat a friend?" Brett said smoothly.

"We are not friends asshole." Thalia responded coldly.

"Oh! I'm crushed!" Brett replied sarcastically. "Look, sweetie I know that you're all butthurt that I sold you over to some raiders and I get it, I'd be pretty mad too, but let's be smart here okay? Do you really want to shoot me in a safe zone? I mean you know that it won't kill me and you'll only be making a scene. Do you really want that?" Brett reasoned.

"What do you want?" Thalia hissed. She lowered her pistol as well, knowing that Brett was right. There really was nothing she could do at this point.

"See, now that wasn't so hard was it?" Brett continued.

"Don't make me ask again."

"Alright, fine. Straight to the point then. Alright I've come to make you a deal."

"I'm not interested." Thalia responded right away.

"Wait hear me out, you'll like it, I promise."

"Why? So you can screw me over again and leave me for dead? Fuck you." Thalia said as she turned to leave.

"What if I told you that you could see your dad again?" Brett said in a last-ditch attempt to convince her. His attempt worked as she stopped and turned to face him.

"I'd say that you're full of shit."

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. You'll have to listen to the deal to find out."

Thalia grunted, but the prospect of getting out of this game for good was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. "I'm listening."

"Great, I knew that you'd come around! Alright so I'm just going to get straight to it then. Here's the deal, you remember that guy that we came across when we were traveling together? Gray was his name wasn't it? Well, it seems that my employer—he ah—well wants him captured, alive. If I would have known at the time, I wouldn't have sold him to those Raiders, but hey lucky for me the two of you busted out of there together right?"

"Now why would I go and give him up to you? He hasn't done anything to betray me and I'm not about to go and do something to betray him either." Thalia said.

"Because he is your ticket out of here. You bring me Gray and my boss has promised to reinstate your logout button. Besides even if you don't I'll hunt him down anyway. I'm just giving you an easier option, because if I have to hunt him, I will have no problem getting rid of you or anyone that gets in my way. I'm trying to keep things as mess-free as possible. So either you bring him to me and you can leave this game forever, or I come and find him and make your lives hell." Brett said.

"How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

"I guess you're just going to have to trust me."

"I—I—don't know."

"I figured you might say that, so I'll cut you a little break. That Slaver meeting in Silverfort that I told you about is just a setup. A false lead. So, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, you have until that meeting to decide what you want to do. You can either take Gray to that meeting and get your logout button reinstated or you can get a little head start and try and run from me. Either way, I'm still going to get what my boss wants. You know what I'm capable of. Oh, and this goes without saying, but tell anybody about this conversation and the deal is off. So, you know the game, now all that's left is for you to make your play. I'm looking forward to what you choose. See you around…Thalia." Brett said as he donned a cap and left the store, leaving behind a conflicted Thalia.

" _What do I do?"_ she thought as she slumped down against the wall. While Brett made it sound like he had cut her a deal, all she felt was like she had to make an impossible choice. To betray or not to betray. That is the question.

 **A/N:** And that concludes the longest chapter so far! The much awaited Chapter 8! Oh jeez… now where to begin… well let me start by apologizing to all of you for the long wait. I really was expecting to have this chapter out sooner, but with work giving me more hours and my sister needing my laptop for her summer school courses, it was hard to find the time to write. To top it off, the laptop got a virus that wiped a couple of files off of my computer… (including this chapter (T^T)) it was just a complete mess getting this chapter out. Right now I am currently working to get another laptop so that my sister can use this one and I can have a laptop to myself, but with my life being so hectic as it is right now I don't know when that is going to be. All I know is that I am finally glad to have gotten this chapter out and over with. So uh, enough of my little rant and onto….. REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!

 _DMD Hanafin: I don't know I guess that isn't really his style. Still, doesn't mean it's a bad style though! Anyways, yeah he was a little too trustful at the beginning but that's starting to change a little bit! Thank you for your review and I hope to hear from you again._

 _MaxGentlman1: Ooooo this chapter was doozy, but yeah this band of misfits is very similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy in certain aspects. Ash's development is also interesting for me to write and I have plenty of ideas to flesh the character out more as the story progresses. Sorry for the long wait, hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long… but we'll see… thanks again for your continued support and input! Hope you enjoy chapter 8!_

 _AKS-784: Thank you! Yeah, the chems aspect is going to be interesting to explore. It kind of has a place here in this chapter actually. Wink* Wink* The next chapter will definitely get into chems and what kind of effect they have and role they play in the world of Fallout: Online so stay tuned. Thanks for reading and the review! Hope you enjoy!_

 _PortalSpartan888: Yeah, I feel you on the uploading soon part… (lol) still it feels good to finally have this chapter up and posted. As I said in my review response for AKS, the drug trade aspects of FO will be revealed next chapter and as for Alyson and Brian, well you'll just have to wait and see about those too. Eventually though, Alyson will be able to break that darned firewall that separates her from her best friend and when she does, man will the mods be great! Haha! Thanks for the review and happy reading!_

Well… I believe that is all of them… so that's really all I have to say for this installment. Hopefully life calms down a bit so that I can write in peace but, I make no promises. Make no mistake though guys, I do love writing this story and I have so many ideas on where I want to go... so until chapter 9 Wastelanders! Please feel free to leave a review or PM if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions! Frosty out!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own **Fallout or any of its characters, nor do I own SAO or any of its characters… sadly.**

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

Chapter 9:

It was a dark and rainy day in Boston. Unfortunately for Alyson, the pitter patter of rain was not loud enough to drown out the voice of her sociology teacher, Mr. Peck. "And that class, is the definition of causality. Remember, that correlation does not always mean causality. Now we will get into temporal order and covariation."

" _Kill me now…"_ Alyson groaned mentally as she leaned back in her seat as she continued to listen to the ramblings of Mr. Peck. After all, it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter anyways. Alyson didn't dislike sociology. It wasn't really a boring subject and all of her friends talked about how fun the class actually was, so she figured it'd be an easy A and a fun time when she signed up. Never in a million years did she think that she'd end up with the most monotone teacher ever who couldn't seem to grasp that he was putting the class to sleep every time he talked.

"Ms. Alyson?" she heard her name called.

" _Oh…great."_ She grumbled. "Yes?" she answered politely.

"Would you please give an example of lack of spuriousness?" He asked.

" _What the fuck!?"_ She thought. "Umm—" she racked her brain to come up with a definition. The last thing she wanted was to look dumb in front of the rest of the class. (Even though half of them were asleep anyways.) "Something about correlation." She answered weakly.

"You're on the right track. Care to elaborate?" Mr. Peck asked.

" _No."_ Alyson's face was starting to turn red from embarrassment. _"Did he talk about this while I wasn't listening? Why did he have to ask me of all people!"_

"Ms. Alyson, your answer."

" _Oh for fucks sake—_ " Lucky for Alyson, the bell rang signaling the end of class and the end of the day. _"Thank god!"_ She thought as she packed up her things and started to make for the exit.

"Alright class that's all the time we have today. Tomorrow we will pick up where we left off—and Ms. Alyson!" he paused and waited until he had her attention. "I expect your answer tomorrow."

Mentally, she stuck her tongue out at him. Physically, she nodded her head in response and left the class. She hated that teacher. Still, she wasn't going to let the boring lectures of Mr. Peck ruin the rest of her day. Alyson was just going to go home, enjoy the weather, and make sure Gray was doing okay. Pulling out her ear buds, Alyson searched through her phone's extensive music library and decided on listening to some Phil Collins.

Stepping out into the rainy streets of Boston, Alyson took in the cold air and smiled as she zipped up her jacket and opened up her umbrella. She absolutely loved the rain. Aly found it to be relaxing, something she hadn't quite been able to do since Gray ended up trapped in Fallout: Online.

The news reports didn't get any better as the days went on. The death count only climbed higher and higher and nothing had surfaced about the mysterious organization behind the attack. Some people were starting to believe that the whole ordeal was just 'a video game launch gone horribly sour', like some sort of freak accident nobody expected. The U.S government had tried reaching out to Japan for a solution, considering that they were going through their own crisis with Sword Art Online. The only difference was that the Fallout: Online incident was on a much grander scale. Millions of people were trapped and there wasn't a damned thing anybody could do about it.

Not that that was going to stop Alyson Gable from trying. It had been a long week for her, a bad break-up, the loss of her best friend, and dozens of failed attempts to break into the Fallout: Online server. Still, she felt that she was making some good progress in her endeavors, as she was learning more and more about programming and computers, something that she was sure Gray would be proud of. Rounding the corner to turn onto her block, Alyson noticed a familiar looking car slowly approaching behind her.

Instinctively, she started to pick up her pace as she knew the owner of the car and wanted nothing to do with him. Naturally, the driver of the car knew that he had been found out and instead of following after her he turned around and went on his way. Alyson let out a sigh of relief, but didn't really feel safe until she'd unlocked the front door to Gray's house and stepped inside. Now she was home.

Dropping her keys and bag on the comfortable living room couch, Alyson made her way upstairs to her new bedroom. After agreeing to look after Gray, Alyson's parents figured it be best if she moved in to keep a close eye on him in case anything ever happened. Luckily, Gray's house had a spare bedroom that was right next to his that served as a guest room whenever Alyson or his family members decided to stay over. She could have moved into his parent's room as well, but Gray had this thing where nobody was allowed to go in there. She'd always been curious and often wondered if Gray himself had ever gone in there, because every time she brought it up he either dodged the question or just stayed quiet. Then there were those times that she'd tried sneaking in and Gray would come out of nowhere and catch her before she could open the doors. He'd put a lock on it since then and Alyson had no idea where the key was, so she never tried again after that. Even so, with Gray out of commission for the time being she couldn't help but think about finally getting to see what was behind those doors. Still, she wasn't too fond about going against her friend's wishes and figured that it was closed for a reason.

Sometimes she came up with these crazy ideas in her head that Gray was some psycho serial killer and that's where he hid the bodies of his victims. Or she thought that Gray's family were a bunch of crazy scientists that developed horrifying creatures and that door was the only thing keeping them from running out and wreaking havoc on the real world. Eventually she chalked her wild imagination down to her exposure to countless Lifetime movies and cheesy horror flicks, but she would be lying if she said that she didn't think something was amiss in the Celthric household.

Despite her delusions, Alyson turned her attention away from the Celthric Parent's doors and walked into her own bedroom instead. While not as decorated as the bedroom she had at her house, Alyson had moved her desk and most of her wardrobe over to the Celthric residence. Her bedroom had its own personal bathroom and closet, so it wasn't like she was missing out on much at her former house. After a long day at school, Alyson wanted nothing more than to hop into the shower and then get into something comfortable. With no parents to tell her what to do, Alyson did just that. Emerging from a hot shower in her pajamas, Aly was grinning from ear to ear. It felt good to do whatever she wanted when she wanted. Living like this, she was almost jealous of Gray. Still, even away from her parents Alyson found that she still had responsibilities.

Walking out of her room and right next door to Gray's, Alyson found her best friend lying in the same position that he had been all week. Aside from the beeping of the medical machinery, everything else was quiet. Sighing, Aly tapped Gray's hand as a lone tear rolled down her cheek. "Wake up soon buddy. It's getting pretty lonely here without you." She said. After doing a quick check over of everything to make sure all was in order, she plopped herself down at his desk and turned on his monitor.

Swiveling in the chair so that she was in a more comfortable position, Alyson began her daily routine of trying to break Gray out of his virtual prison.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

Gray awoke in a medical lab of some sorts. The walls were lined with holograms and data logs that he didn't bother taking the time to read and the floors were such a bright white that it was starting to hurt his eyes. The lab reminded him of the dream he had the night before and he wondered if maybe he was dreaming again. A quick look told him that he wasn't, because he was in control of his own body. The only question he had now was where in the hell was he and how did he get here.

The last thing he remembered was a fight, one that was pretty heavily one-sided at that. He recalled a male and female voice coming to help him as he was slipping out of consciousness and then after that everything went dark. Now, here he was in some Institute-type lab without any answers and a whole lot of questions.

"Ah, you're finally awake." He heard a voice call from his right. Turning in the direction that the voice came from, he was greeted by the young girl from his dream the night before.

"AGH!" He yelled as he fell off the operating table and onto the hard ceramic floor.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?" The girl asked. She quickly came to his aid, but Gray wouldn't have it and only distanced himself from the little girl.

"Stay back! I don't know what it is that you want but stay away from me!" he said with an arm raised.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you. I'm your friend." She said calmly.

"My friend? Bullshit! You're that girl from my dream! The one that they were experimenting on!"

"Oh, so you saw that?" The little girl said sadly. The look on her face almost made Gray want to apologize. _Almost._

"Yes I did! So that means if you are here, then they somehow managed to get their hands on me." Gray reasoned.

"No, it isn't like that, I promise." The girl's demeanor quickly changed.

"Then what is it like then? Huh!?" Gray said, a little tense.

"Follow me and I'll show you." The little girl replied. Before Gray could ask any more questions, the little girl had skipped away and down a hallway. Left with no other choice, Gray followed after the little girl who was waiting patiently for him at the door for the next room. "You came!" she chimed happily.

"I didn't really have much of a choice." Gray answered. The little girl didn't respond and only danced around happily before she opened the door to the next room and bolted inside. To say that Gray was amazed would be an understatement. In the center of the large open room was a table that projected a holographic map of the Grand Wasteland. To the left was a giant computer screen that was running diagnostics on the members of Binary Squad. _"Where the hell did she go?"_ he thought as he looked to his right and saw another girl locked in a cage. _"What the?"_ Thinking that she was a potential slave, Gray walked over to investigate. The right side of the room was noticeably darker than the other side and had a certain air about it that just made Gray uncomfortable. "Um—hey there—I'm here to help in case you—" Just as Gray's hand was about to make contact with the cage he was yanked back right as the girl he was about to help began attacking the front of the cage like some feral ghoul.

"What the hell?" he thought in confusion. She didn't look like a ghoul to him, but yet she was acting like she wanted to rip him limb from limb. The only way to describe it was like an animal and Gray felt sickened by the whole idea. What did somebody have to go through to be put into a stage like that?

"That was a close call. We almost lost our Runner there." His savior said from behind him. The voice was definitely feminine and when he turned to face her he was greeted to what looked like the little girl from before, only this time around his age.

"Yeah good thing you got him when you did Big Blue, or else CB would have gotten him!" The little girl from earlier chimed from behind Big Blue.

"Big Blue? CB? Runner? Would somebody please tell just what the hell is going on here!?" Gray said with waning patience.

"It's a long story." The girl known as Big Blue said.

"I've got time." Gray replied with his hands on his hips.

"Yay! Storytime!" The little girl shouted as she ran over to take a seat on a nearby couch. Even though she looked to be about 10, Gray noted that she was acting somewhat unusual for her age. Still, he had more important things to worry about.

"I'll do us both a favor and cut to the chase. We need your help and you could use ours." Big Blue said quickly.

"That remains to be seen. If you want my help, I want the full rundown." Gray replied. A week in the Grand Wasteland had taught Gray to not be so trusting. There was always someone looking to taking advantage of you, and with the things he just saw, he wasn't about to go trusting anything this girl said.

"Now's not the time to be difficult!" Big Blue argued.

"I agree. So what are you waiting for? If you want my help, explain to me what is going on here and don't leave out any details."

"Ugh!" Big Blue groaned. "Fine! I'll tell you what you want to know, but remember you asked for it!" She warned, but Gray just nodded for her to proceed. "*Sigh* Alright, well there isn't really another way to say this but—Little Blue, CB, and I are all the same person that is trapped in your head until you get us to our destination."

~ _Pause~_

"Huh?"

"You're really going to make me say it again?" Big Blue sighed.

"I'm sorry, it isn't everyday that someone tells you that they're stuck in your fucking head." Gray replied.

"So you believe us?" Big Blue said with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

"No. Hell no." he answered.

"I knew you wouldn't!"

"Who in the hell would!" Gray argued.

"Look I don't know how else to explain it to you but it's true! Someone out there decided that you'd be our Runner because they figured that you could keep us safe. Whether you want to believe me or not, you're stuck with us until you deliver us to the Nightingale!"

"No, no, no, no! I'm not anybody's errand boy! I don't even know who the Nightingale is or what the hell a Runner is, so no! Just no!" Gray said stubbornly.

"You mean you're not going to take us to the safe lady?" Little Blue started to tear up.

"Look what you did!" Big Blue yelled.

"What I did!? I'm just trying to figure out what's true and not true. I've had enough people mess with me in this place already, and I'll be damned if I let it happen again! No offense to you and your friend there, but everything that has come out of your mouth just sounds like a bunch of crazy talk!" Gray defended.

"Okay, okay! That's fair. I understand where you are coming from and this is a lot to process. Let's just start over, okay? I'll do my best to explain everything I can. Alright?" Big Blue gave in, tired of all the yelling.

"Yeah, alright fine." Gray reluctantly agreed. Holding out wasn't going to get him any answers and since he didn't know a damn thing about where he was or what was going on, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to listen. Besides, they hadn't tried anything shady yet and that was a good sign.

"So, Gray right?"

"How do you know my name?" Gray instantly went back on the defensive.

"Well, when we became a part of you, the first thing that happened is that we got to see your memories. According to Little Blue here, you also shared in one of my memories as well." Big Blue explained calmly.

"Wait, you mean that dream that I had? That was one of your memories?" Gray asked.

"Yeah and it wasn't pretty was it?"

"No—it was horrible." Gray answered.

"Yeah—and that's why I—we-need your help. As our Runner, you will be helping us get away from that place for good." Big Blue continued.

"So you three are all the same person?"

"Yup."

"Okay, let's say I believe you. Two things: Why are there three of you anyways and two, if you are here in my head, then how am I helping you escape?"

"I'll answer your second question first. Okay, do you remember in that memory you saw of ours, that big helmet that they attached to me?"

"Yeah. The big clunky one, right?"

"Precisely. That big helmet was a virtual reality device. The first of its kind actually and it worked by extracting our minds and then it would upload them into a computer. That computer would then run thousands of simulated 'experiences' that served to test our psyche and abilities. These experiences served to test the limits of human beings without physically doing them any harm. All the trauma would be emotional."

"Okay, that's really fucked up and all but that still doesn't answer my question. In fact, I'm even more confused. I could see how your conscience being uploaded to a computer would allow you to escape into a VR simulation like this one, but then what? You have no body. You're just an AI. A ghost."

"Ghost?" Little Blue repeated with a scared expression.

"I was just getting to that. So, after every 'test' they'd put our minds back into our bodies and we'd be sent back to the bunks. After a while I guess someone realized that once they had uploaded our minds, there was no need to place them back into our bodies and then they could just run the tests without the hassle of wrangling us up and strapping us down. So, they built enough helmets for everyone and then extracted each and every one's conscience and uploaded it to a different computer. Now they could run all kinds of experiments, getting different results from all of these young minds 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. So, do you remember on the news about the mysterious coma breakout a few years back?"

"Yeah, that was like nine years ago. I think I was like 9. Didn't a bunch of kids fall into a coma at some orphanage and no one could explain it? The lady that ran the orphanage ended up getting the death penalty I believe." Gray recalled.

"Well, that was us. Then all of our bodies were sent to different hospitals across the globe to be maintained because the general public felt so bad for us. Little did they know that all those bodies were only husks." Big Blue finished on a sad note.

"Wait, you were experimented on for almost ten years? So then, that means the three different 'parts' of you that I'm looking at must represent a different psyche? And if you're barely escaping now then that means—these tests, they are still ongoing?"

"Yes. A lot of people I know are still trapped—"

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Those scientists need to be stopped!" Gray shot up.

"Gray, I know what you're thinking—but these people—they can't be stopped." Big Blue started to say with tears in her eyes.

"Bullshit!"

"Gray—"

"No! Those people have no right to experiment—"

"GRAY!" Big Blue interrupted, tears flowing freely down her face. "Believe me, people have tried and they are all dead. There is no stopping them." She repeated.

"What about this Nightingale person? Can't they do anything about it?" Gray asked.

"The Nightingale only helps us by putting our conscience back into our original body. Nothing more and nothing less. If he tried doing anything else, then any hope of escape would die along with him." She explained.

Gray remained silent for a while as Big Blue and her smaller counterpart cried quietly to themselves. He couldn't understand how an organization like this could even exist. The sheer thought of the amount of trouble that they'd caused people caused his blood to boil.

"These—people…these monsters that experimented on you—do they have a name?" Gray broke the silence.

"No, nobody knows who they are or who their leader is. All of us orphans tried to figure it out through the years, but every single one of them dressed only in the same white suits and helmet. We called them the Whitecoats, but we never got an official name or anything." Big Blue said as she collected herself.

"The Whitecoats then? Well BB, I'll help you get to wherever it is you need to get to, but afterward I'm going to make sure that every Whitecoat pays for what they've done. And don't you dare try and stop me either." He declared.

"T-thank you." She stammered. "This means a lot to me. Really." She said as she got to her feet and brushed herself off.

"Don't mention it. Anywho, you said that if I helped you that you would be able to help me. What's the deal with that?" Gray asked.

"Hmm, we're almost out of time. We will talk about that the next time I see you." Big Blue replied, much to Gray's disappointment.

"What do you mean 'we're almost out of time?'! I have plenty of time!" He argued, causing BB to chuckle.

"I'm sorry Gray. Next time I promise we will talk about where I need to go and about the help that I can offer you. For now, it's about time you woke up."

"Woke up? What do you mean wake up?" He called as the lab he had awoken in earlier started to fade away. "BB?" he called out, but with no answer. "BB? BB! BB!"

~~Line Break~~

For the second time that day, Gray found himself waking up in a place he had no recollection of being in. "Where the hell am I?" he grumbled. _"And what the hell was that just now? Did I really just dream all that up?"_ he thought to himself. _"Ohhh—and why does it feel like I got hit by a train?"_

Looking around, he found that he was lying in a cot in a ruggedly built shack. The moonlight rays pierced through the holes in the framework, providing just a little more light in the candlelit room. Glancing to his left, Gray saw that he wasn't alone either, as Rias was sleeping soundly in a chair next to his bed.

" _What's she doing here? And where is everybody else?"_ he thought. He made to move, but groaned in pain as his sore body advised him against the action. The noise he made was enough to stir the sleeping Rias, whom jumped out of her seat to stop Gray from moving anymore.

"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy there Gray. Try not to move so much!" She said in full alert mode. If Gray hadn't seen her sleeping just a minute ago, he would have sworn that Rias downed at least six cups of coffee.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out. Geez." He winced as he settled back into his cot. "Where are the others?" he asked as Rias sat back down in her chair.

"The local motel. I sent them all there to get some rest. Don't worry, everybody is fine." She answered.

"That's good." He replied as he turned his attention to the patchy ceiling. A space cowboy bedsheet and some wooden planks were the only thing between Gray and the midnight sky.

"Yeah, everyone is fine." Rias repeated. "Except for you." She said in a tone so serious that Gray felt like he was about to be scolded by Alyson's mother. (In the absence of his mother, she scolded him a lot.) "What happened Gray? Who did this to you?"

"Isn't that the question of the day?" Gray said with a slight chuckle that ended up causing him more pain than amusement.

"Gray, this is serious. The condition that we found you in—Gray you were beaten within an inch of your life. That is unacceptable. I want names. Nobody hurts my teammates. Nobody."

"Rias I think you're overreacting—it wasn't that bad." Gray said, turning his head to meet her gaze.

"Overreacting? Gray! When we came to the infirmary you had four broken ribs, a laceration across the chest, a fractured skull, and a concussion and I'm OVERREACTING!" Rias' voice was rising to a level that Gray had never seen before. Still, after hearing what they did to him he wasn't just going to send his squad after them to get revenge for something they weren't even a part of. If they almost beat him within an inch of his life, he didn't want to imagine what they'd do to everyone else.

"Yeah, well you should see the other guy." He responded nonchalantly.

"Gray this isn't funny—"

"It isn't a big deal either. So I got into a fight and I got roughed up a bit—and? I fought and lost. End of story. There is no point in going out and continuing this cycle. It just isn't worth it Rias."

"It's worth it to me! Just because you hold no value over your life doesn't mean that I don't. These guys beat you within an inch of your life Gray! And as a member of Binary Squad—"

"Would you quit with the squad bit!? We had an agreement to help each other. The others and I never agreed to join your little team!" Gray shouted louder than he intended to.

"You're absolutely right." Rias said, her voice a little shaky. "I guess I was just worrying over nothing then, huh?"

"Rias—wait, you know that…" But Gray's words came too late. The silver-haired teen had already left the room and had no intention of coming back. Knowing full well that this was going to become an issue, Gray fell back on his pillow and slammed his one good arm on the bedside table that was next to him. "Damn!" he cursed. He was so deep in thought that he failed to notice the nurse slip in to check on him.

"Is e-everything alright sir?" She asked shyly.

"Huh? Oh yeah, everything is fine. Sorry if we startled you." Gray apologized.

"Oh, no need to apologize sir. We just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Your girlfriend seemed really upset." Hearing the word girlfriend come out of the nurse's mouth almost made Gray choke. "Oh my god, sir are you alright!?" she asked in worry.

"Y-yeah. Sorry. But, she's not my girlfriend." Gray informed.

"Oh, my mistake sir. I just thought that—you know how she didn't want to leave your side and everything that the two of you were a couple." The nurse said.

"What are you talking about?" Gray asked.

"Oh, well the last couple of days that you've been here, that girl hasn't left your side. Your friends have tried to convince her to leave to get some rest, but she refused them and chose to stay with you until you woke up. She was really worried about you, you know." The nurse revealed. At this point, Gray was pretty sure that the nurse was just trying to make him feel bad and unfortunately for him, it was working.

"Couple of days? How long have I been here?"

"About three days." The nurse answered.

"Three days! I've been asleep for three days!?" Gray exclaimed.

"Yeah when we got you, you were in pretty bad shape there. It took 3 stimpaks to heal your injuries and our doctor expected you to be out of commission for a week. Imagine his surprise when they find out that you were only out for three days. He's gonna say it's a miracle!" The nurse chatted away.

"Yeah I bet, hey can I ask you a favor?" Gray asked.

"Sure sweetie, what is that you need?"

"This doctor, can I see him tomorrow? There is something that I need to ask him."

"Why of course. I'll have him meet with you in the morning if that isn't any trouble to you."

"Not at all. Thank you." Gray bowed his head as he was unable to do much else at the moment.

"No problem sweetie. Well if you need anything else just holler. One of us will come check up on you. Oh, and a real shame about that girl. She was really pretty." The nurse winked at him as she left the room.

" _Damn nurse."_ He grunted. Leaning back down onto his pillow, Gray let out a deep sigh. He wasn't expecting Rias to react like that, but he figured that he'd made the right choice. Besides, he had other things on his mind, like that weird dream he just had. Left with more questions than answers, Gray didn't know what direction to take at this point. On the one side he wanted to help Big Blue get away from such a terrible organization, but then again he didn't want to end up on some wild goose chase either. Either way he meant what he said about bringing every Whitecoat down. Still, he wasn't going to get any answers in his current position and then there was the whole ordeal with Rias that he had to deal with the next day, so he decided to get some rest while he could.

Tomorrow was going to be a _long_ day.

 _ **Early morning… next day…**_

"Well, well, well! Look who's back from the dead!" Ash bellowed at the top of his lungs, much to Gray's annoyance.

"Do you have to be so loud!?" Thalia scolded the brash teen. Ash simply ignored the green eyed beauty and plopped himself down on one of the wooden chairs in the room.

"Aww—what time is it?" Gray yawned, spreading the infectious phenomenon to his two guests. He dared to stretch and was relieved that his body wasn't as sore as it was the night before.

"Mmm—about 6:30 maybe." Ash answered. "How are ya feelin' pal?" Ash asked while leaning back in his creaky chair.

"Like shit." Gray replied.

"That sounds about right, because you look terrible." Ash joked, earning him an elbow jab from Thalia. "Ow! Hey what gives? It was just a joke!"

"You're looking much better Gray. Don't listen to him." She said while casting a death glare over towards Ash, whom put his hands up in mock defense.

"Yeah, well for what it's worth, thanks. Both of you. I appreciate you coming to visit me. Still, why did you guys come so early? No offense or anything." Gray said.

"What we can't come check up on our friend or something? Geez, and we were all worried sick about you." Ash scoffed.

"You know I didn't mean it like that Ash." Gray defended.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just busting your balls man." He said with a smile. "But, Rias came to the motel this morning to let us know that you were up and kicking, so we decided to pay a visit and see how you were doing. You've been out for three days, man. Whoever you got tangled up with, really did a number on you."

"So I heard." Gray replied. "Well, what have you guys been up to since I've been out? Any leads on Brett or the slavers?" At the mention of her former traveling companion, Thalia looked down at her feet and recalled her conversation with him the other day.

" _Just bring me Gray and I'll have your logout button restored. Think about it, you can see your family again."_ His voice echoed in her head.

"Not at all. Actually, Rias has pretty much had us looking this place up and down in search of whoever did this to you. You should have seen her the day we found you. I've never seen her look so mad… actually this morning she seemed pretty pissed too now that I think about it. MAN! Is that guy going to be sorry for what he did to you!" Ash slapped his knee in amusement. Then he saw that both Thalia and Gray weren't sharing in his enthusiasm and he felt bad all of a sudden. "Hey guys, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." They both answered simultaneously, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow.

"No, no, no, no, no, we aren't doing this. That's bullshit. Something is definitely wrong and the fact that both of you replied at the exact same time means that there is something the two of you aren't telling me. So spill it."

"There's nothing wrong with me. It was just a coincidence that we answered at the same time is all." Thalia replied quickly. Ash was still suspicious but he decided to let her off the hook for now, seeing as how Gray was still silent.

"Fine then. Gray?" he called, wanting to know why he was in such a dull mood. When the injured teen still didn't answer, Ash pressed the issue further. "Hello! I'm talking to you!" Figuring that telling them wouldn't hurt, Gray decided to let them in on what happened the night before. "Let me get this straight then, she's mad at you because you didn't tell her who beat you up?"

"Yup." Gray answered.

"Well, you gotta swallow your pride at some point Gray. I mean we all lose fights sometimes and I know a girl going in and—" Ash began.

"It isn't about that at all." He shook his head.

"Well then what is it about man? We've been looking all over the guy that did this to you. The least you could do is tell us something." Ash argued.

"It wasn't a guy. It was several people, like a team. Kind of like us." Gray revealed.

"Wait, you mean a group of people attacked you?" Thalia asked. This revelation only made Thalia feel worse, as she thought that the group that attacked Gray were some of Brett's goons. It would only make sense, being that he was looking for him. Being a slave trader, he probably sent a gang of guys after Gray to try and take him, but someone probably saw and they were forced to leave.

"You fought a team!? How many were there?" Ash asked, jumping out of his seat in fury.

"I don't know, six maybe? I don't remember much." Gray replied.

"Six vs one! No wonder you looked like you were put through the ringer! Those bitches! Doesn't anybody know what a fair fight is nowadays!?" Ash was livid. "Why the fuck didn't you tell us about this sooner Gray? Why didn't you try and find one of us!?"

"Don't you think I would have if I had the opportunity? At the time I didn't even know that many of them were going to get involved in the first place!" Gray yelled back.

"ARGH! Tell me who did this!" Ash demanded. His fists were tightly clenched and he looked like he was about to punch a hole in the wall.

"No Ash! If I didn't tell Rias, what makes you think I'm going to tell you?"

"You're going to tell me so that we can go beat some fucking ass!" Ash roared, getting in the injured teens face.

"How stupid can you be? Don't you see what they fucking did to me!? What's going to stop them from doing that to the rest of us!? Huh!?" Gray countered. Although he didn't remember much from his fight, he did recall that each of the opponent's he faced were significantly higher levels than he was. He knew that the three of them would most likely be killed by the other squad, leaving Rias, Rachel, and Kota to get overwhelmed. That wasn't something he wanted, so for now he'd let them get away with it. He'd bite his tongue and take the loss. If it meant that they'd all survive another day, then it was worth it.

"AGH! YOU'RE SO GOD DAMN STUBBORN! FINE THEN! I GUESS I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO—"

"GOING TO HAVE TO WHAT!?" Gray interrupted.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Thalia's voice shook the room. "Seriously, Ash he hasn't even recovered and you are already starting to pick a fight! The same goes for you Gray! Seriously, have you learned nothing from your last experience! We're supposed to be a team, remember?"

"He started it."

"ASH! Sit down!" Thalia barked. The loud-mouth of the group did as he was told, as he folded his arms and pouted.

"You're right Thalia. I'm sorry." Gray said after he cooled down a bit.

"Now apologize to him." Thalia ordered as she pointed to the now beaming Ash.

"You can't be serious."

"That's right, you heard the lady. Apologize to me." Ash teased, celebrating his victory. Too bad for Ash, his victory would only be short-lived as Thalia scolded him too.

"Don't think you're off the hook either Ash."

"Oh, look whatever. This is stupid. I'm sorry okay? Can we just get past this and move on?" Gray said, annoyed that he was being treated like a little kid.

"Yeah, I have to say I agree with bandage-boy on this one. Sorry I got out of hand." Ash followed after. "I still want to know who did this, but I guess you have your reasons. I'll respect that for now, but you will tell us. It's one thing to lose a one-on-one fight. It's another to get jumped. They won't get away with this." Ash remarked.

"Alright, I guess that's fair enough then." Gray agreed, glad that he was able to get past the issue with Thalia and Ash. Still, that was only half the battle as Rias and the others were surely going to be just as difficult.

"Yeah well, Thalia and me are going to head out now. We have to meet up with Rias and the others at the market to pick up a on a potential lead on the slavers. She'll be pissed if we're late again and since she's already mad at you, I'd rather not make things worse." Ash informed.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Ash and I will stop by later to check up on you and we'll fill you in on what's going on. Hopefully, tomorrow you'll have recovered enough to get back out there with us instead of having to sit on that uncomfortable looking bed." Thalia added in.

"Sounds good. Thank you for stopping by guys. I really appreciate it. I'll see you guys later." Gray said.

"Later dude."

"Bye Gray." Thalia said as she followed Ash out of the room. "Oops! Sorry about that!" Gray heard her say from just outside and then he heard another voice that sounded like the nurse from the other night. He assumed they must have bumped into one another as the nurse was coming to see him as they were making their exit. Before Gray knew it, the nurse was in his room bowing before him.

"Excuse me if I am intruding sir, but that doctor you asked me about is ready to see you now. That is if you are ready to see him." The nurse informed. It took Gray a second to process what he was talking about. Then he recalled that he wanted to see the doctor to discuss something that had been bothering him ever since he escaped from the vault.

His eye.

"Yes, please send him in."

 _ **A/N: And Chapter 9 Wastelanders! So, I believe in the last author's notes, I told you guys about the laptop situation between my sister and me. Well, I'm proud to say that won't be an issue anymore as I finally got another laptop! In my excitement I went through and got this bad boy out for you guys as quickly as possible. So without further ado, REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!**_

 _ **MaxGentlman1: Yeah, this chapter is definitely a change in pace when compared to the last chapter I posted. Still, the last chapter was really fun to write and I'm glad you enjoyed it. This story is where I get to work on my dialogue and own storytelling ability, so it's good for me to see that I am improving and not just reeling people in with non-stop action. (Because that gets difficult to do sometimes. Lol.) As for your theory, you're just going to have to hold onto that until the next chapter! (You're close tho.)**_

 _ **And that was the only review so that wraps that up! Well, here we are people, one chapter away from the milestone chapter of 10! Let me begin by thanking all of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story of mine. I know this story has its flaws (being that it's my first story with original characters and all) and I'm still trying to figure out this writing stuff as I go along, because well I'm not a professional writer, but I do want to give you guys the best damn story possible. So, thank you to all of my readers for bearing with me and helping me in this little journey of mine! On that note, if any of you ever have any suggestions, comments, questions, or concerns please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review. Until next time Wastelanders, Frosty out!**_


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own _**Fallout or Sword Art Online or any of the two franchises characters.**_

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

Chapter 10: A Sense of Hopelessness

For the first time in a few days, Gray had finally stood on his own two feet. While his legs sustained no major injuries in his bout with the squad that had attacked him, he found that his lower body was having a hard time keeping him upright. Gritting his teeth, he could tell that he hadn't healed completely yet, but he didn't want to spend another day in that god forsaken cot. He had to walk, _he had to…_

"What are you doing?" Thalia's sudden entrance disrupted his focus, causing him to stumble forward where he collided with the wall. The green haired beauty stifled a giggle when she heard his annoyed grunt and moved over to help him in his troubled state. Wrapping one hand around his waist and offering her shoulder as a support, Thalia helped Gray off the wall and over onto the cot. "That bad, huh?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"No. Just a little sore is all. I should be fine after today." He admitted. Glancing over, he saw that Thalia had gotten a change in outfit since he'd last seen her. She abandoned the black t-shirt from before in favor of a black corset that stopped above her belly button and swapped out her ragged jeans for a new pair of brown leather pants that dipped into her boots. Her right arm was covered with heavy leather as opposed to her left, which was moderately protected with medium leather armor. Her right leg was strapped with a holster that was carrying a weathered looking M1911 and her left leg was sporting patches of metal armor. Her appearance wasn't the only thing that had received an upgrade, as she'd modified her pipe pistol into a rifle with a marksman stock, scope, and a screwdriver bayonet. _"Looks like the group's been hard at work since I've been out. Damn. Why am I always behind?"_ he thought to himself.

"Really? Well that's good to hear. The doctor said you'd be in here for at least the rest of the week."

"No, I talked to him earlier today. I should be good by tomorrow." Gray informed her. He left out the other details concerning his real meeting with the doctor, as he didn't think the results of the tests would change anything. Thalia was the only person so far who'd seen his 'blue' synthetic eye. After speaking with the doctor about it, the only look Gray got was one of confusion. He should have figured as much, given the man was by no means a professional doctor. As far as he was concerned, the only answer he'd find in regard to his eye would be in tracking down that guy that they'd fought in the raider hideout, if he was still alive that is. Either way, he didn't like the thought of coming face to face with that crazed killer again anytime soon. _"Maybe Big Blue will know something about it."_

"Did you? You must really want out of this cot then, huh?" she joked, earning a chuckle from Gray.

"I do." He admitted with a small smile. "So, how did the lead turn out?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah I almost forgot—we picked up on a trail of slavers heading toward Silverfort from here. A lady we went to go meet said a couple of them stopped by and made some trouble here in a town not too long ago. I guess they have her daughter, and she wants us to help get her back. Says she'll pay us too. Rias was planning to leave in a couple of days, but now that you're better I'm sure that we'll be heading out tomorrow." Thalia informed.

"I see. Well, I'd be happy to help that lady out, with or without pay. I cannot imagine what she must be going through seeing her daughter taken from her."

"Yeah, I know. It's pretty crazy seeing how many players actually play video games with their parents these days. It just sucks that this game didn't quite turn out the way they had planned." Thalia commented.

"I hear you. So, how's everybody else doing?" he changed the subject. For someone who didn't have parents around for most of his life, he didn't really want to hear about other people's parents that much. It wasn't so much that it bothered him in the sense that it made him jealous, but rather that it made him uncomfortable because he couldn't really relate to most people.

"Rias is doing fine. She seemed happy that we finally got a good lead on something, so hopefully she'll have forgotten all about your fight with each other tomorrow." At the mention of his 'disagreement' with Rias, Gray shifted uncomfortably. He'd seen her lose her patience with Ash before and unlike how it is with him, she didn't seem like she wanted to break his bones. She was just upset and for Gray, that was a whole lot worse than a broken arm. "Rachel and Kota are in the same boat as Rias. If she's happy, then they are happy. Ash is well—doing well I suppose. He had another 'fight' with Rias today over the subject of authority and how he deserved it. As you can imagine, Rias won and Ash was left with well, another broken arm. He said he was going to stop by here later after he got something to eat."

"Good to know. Well I'm glad that everybody is doing okay. Just wish I was out there helping you guys—instead of well sitting here." He complained.

"Yeah—Oh! I almost forgot, I have something for you!" Thalia exclaimed excitedly.

"For me?" He said as he watched her pull up her Pip-Boy. She turned the dial until she found the item she was looking for and pushed down on the nob. There was a distinct _'click'_ and a small pack materialized on Thalia's lap.

"Here you go." She smiled as she handed it to him. With a raised eyebrow, Gray reached into the pack and pulled out a leather leg holster that actually had his name on it. "There's more." She informed as she took the holster to hold while he reached for the second item in the pack. Immediately, by the feel of the object he knew it was a pistol. After all, it only made sense given the holster she'd gotten him. Pulling it out, Gray saw that she'd gifted him a custom Colt M1911A1.

"Thalia, this is—how did you get your hands on something like this?" He asked after seeing the craftsmanship that went into the firearm. Now Gray really didn't know much of anything about weapons, but he could tell that the weapon he was holding wasn't the average M1911. The first thing that Gray noticed was the 'ring hammer', a design that replaced the standard spur hammer and made the ignition system faster. A long-type trigger had replaced the standard version and had three holes drilled into the trigger shoe to reduce bouncing from the recoil. The iron sights had also been modified to a high profile 3-dot sight system that featured an enlarged front sight, giving it greater target sighting capability.

"Do you like it?" she asked shyly. While Gray didn't know much about guns, Thalia did. Being the only girl, Thalia's father wanted to make sure his daughter could defend herself and fire a gun properly. Her dad was a total gun-nut and she was no stranger to firearms. When she came across the custom M1911A1, she almost had to do a double-take. She couldn't believe that someone could create such a beautiful weapon in a videogame. She had to have it.

"I don't know what to say. I don't know much about weapons, but I can tell that this weapon was modified and taken care of. Did you make this? It's amazing." He asked.

"I wish! If I could craft something like that, I might as well just open up my own shop! I found it at the marketplace. A vendor was selling it. I'm glad you like it." She finished with an earnest smile.

"You got this at the market!? But how? Everything in the entire market is ridiculously overpriced!" Gray said in disbelief.

"That's because you're shopping all wrong." She commented.

"Huh?" he asked.

"While you've been, _recovering,_ the rest of us have been quite busy in this little town. While Rias made it her personal mission to track down your assaulters, she made us run some jobs to put some caps in our pockets. Naturally, Rachel led us to a local town bar with all kinds of job requests. The first few were pretty simple, like finding a lost cat or doing some general clean-up in a certain area of town. As you can imagine, those didn't pay very well and we started tackling some tougher jobs like clearing out an area infested with radroaches and repairing some of the buildings around town. When we came back to cash in our completed jobs, the bar owner didn't pay us in caps. He paid us in drugs."

"What? Like meth and—" Gray said, a little confused. The whole process had yet to register in his mind and believe or not, he was still adapting to the fact that he was trapped in a video game.

"No." she shook her head. "Haven't you played Fallout before? Jet? Buffout? Mentats? Psycho?" She listed.

"Oh—chems!" Gray mentally slapped himself for not putting two and two together sooner. Regardless, something wasn't quite adding up just yet. Good thing Thalia wasn't done explaining herself.

"Yeah. So, at first we didn't know what to do with them. As a matter of fact, Rachel almost took down the bartender that gave them to us. Luckily, Kota was able to reason with her and we left without making much more of a scene. That still left us with one problem and that was what to do with the chems? Rachel's first idea was to throw them away, but the rest of us weren't too fond of the idea of all our hard work going to waste so Kota proposed another idea. To make a long story short, we started selling them to the vendors who all turned out to be hardcore chem junkies. Some of the vendors even offered to trade certain items for their 'much needed' fix, like that M1911 you've got there."

"Well, that definitely explains the high prices. It also explains what that guy came in and held up the shopkeeper for. He must've been looking for chems." Gray said.

"Do you think the guys that attacked you were chem addicts too? Dealers maybe?" Thalia asked.

"There's a possibility, but I doubt that they were dealers. The guy that came in wasn't looking for payment. He was looking for some sort of supply. Maybe the shop keep was some dealer and ripped the guy off." Gray replied.

"What if they were trying to stop the chem trade?" Thalia threw out. As someone who traveled with a slaver, she knew that there would be a couple of groups that were opposed to bringing down these sort of businesses. After all, chems were similar to real world drugs and could pose a major issue for a lot of these players struggling to cope with the fact that they may never see the real world again.

"There's that option too, but I don't think that is likely. Unlike the real world, these drugs aren't illegal. Besides their addictive qualities, they do provide in-game benefits to the people that use them like damage absorption and mental enhancements. If anything, they are just another tool for the player to use. Even so, I guess that isn't going to stop the morally righteous from trying to put a stop to it." He commented.

"Hm. Oh well, no use worrying about it now is there? It isn't like we are going to ever run into them again anyways." Thalia said.

"I sure hope not." Gray replied softly. As much as he wanted to believe that this would be the last time he ever saw anyone of Leon's squad again, he couldn't fight that feeling that their paths were destined to cross in the near future. He had to get stronger before then. _"I have to."_ He thought as he and Thalia sat in comfortable silence.

"Well, you've still got some stuff in that little bag of yours. Nothing major though, just a new outfit with some leather armor for protection and some ammo. We did our best to try and get you properly equipped but we only had so much chems to go around." Thalia explained.

"Thank you, Thalia. I'll be sure to thank the others tomorrow." Gray nodded his head in appreciation.

"You bet. Be sure to thank Kota for that custom holster. Never would've thought the big guy could be so crafty with his hands. You couldn't even tell that he pieced that together from some scraps of leather he found in one of our clean-up jobs."

"No kidding? He did a really good job." Gray remarked as he turned the holster over in his hand. Slipping his newly acquired pistol into the holster, Gray gently placed it onto the bedside desk and emptied out the rest of the contents in his bag. As he was rifling through the rest of the items, Thalia leaned back and took a deep breath.

" _It's now or never…"_ she thought. "Hey Gray, can I ask you something?" Taking a pause from his rummaging, Gray looked up to face the green-eyed girl.

"Of course." He answered simply.

"I know that this is going to seem like a dumb question, but if you had an opportunity to get back home right now, would you take it?"

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?" he said.

"No matter what you had to do? You'd still take the opportunity?" she asked. Gray sat back and thought carefully for a minute. His immediate answer would have been yes, but as he turned the question over in his mind he began to think of what he'd be willing to do to get back home. Thalia patiently awaited his answer, as her mind started to work against her. Although she didn't show it, the guilt behind Brett's proposition was starting to eat her up. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was looking to gain from Gray's answer. Maybe it was the comfort that he'd think along the same thought process that she was or that he'd somehow be able to change her mind. Unfortunately for her, Gray's answer brought her no form of solitude and only made her decision that much harder.

"As much as I want to say that I would take the opportunity, until I know what's at stake I can't say that I'd take it. Why do you ask?"

"Uh—no reason. Just curious." She answered somewhat awkwardly. Gray noticed that something was off about Thalia, but before he could question her she rose hastily and made to leave the room. "I'm sorry—but I have to go." She said as she quickly left the room. On her way out, she bumped into Ash whom was sporting one of the biggest grins on his face.

"Hey! Thalia! How's it going?" he said in good cheer.

"I have to go." She said, her voice void of any emotion. She sped past him and left, leaving both Ash and Gray dumbfounded.

"What the hell man? That's the second girl that you send running off in a mood. You got a problem with beautiful girls or something?" Ash remarked sarcastically.

"Shut up." Gray directed a harsh glare towards Ash, whom raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, I'm only commenting at what I'm seeing dude." He replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, what do you want?"

"Wow dude, just let me know how you really feel. Here I come, bearing food for my friend and you're just being a total douche nozzle." Ash huffed in mock pain.

"Is it poisoned?" Gray joked.

"Yeah, my plan was to off you so that I can have all the beautiful ladies to myself." Ash said playfully. After making brief eye contact the duo erupted into hearty laughter, a sound that had come to be extremely rare in the Grand Wasteland. Once the laughter subsided, Ash deposited one of the two cups that he had been holding on Gray's bedside desk. "I sure hope you like noodles man. It was all I could afford." He said as he pulled the paper top off his cup to reveal a healthy cloud of steam.

"Thanks." Gray said as he reached for the cup of noodles. The foam cup was surprisingly hot to the touch, reminding Gray of the countless number of insta-ramen meals he'd had in the real world.

"No problem! You've been out for so long, I figured you must be starving." Ash noted.

"Yeah. The nurse gave me a couple of meals throughout the day, but nothing that would fill a belly. As a matter of fact, I think this is my first real meal in the Grand Wasteland."

"No shit. Well, I've been eating like a god damn pig. It's nice to actually have some recognizable food for once. None of that radroach bullshit. Ew." He shivered at the thought of the large cockroach meat.

"True that." Gray saluted with his cup, a gesture that was reciprocated by Ash.

"So, Thalia gave you the gear we collected for you I see." Ash said after a long silence.

"Yeah. I almost forgot to thank you for that." Gray replied in between bites of his delicious ramen soup.

"It ain't nothing. I think everybody was just happy to help out. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you getting beat up really brought all of us closer together you know? Seeing you that day, just pissed everyone off. I'm serious man, we ever run into those guys in the future…oh-ho! I'm talkin' a major ass whoopin'!" Ash vowed with a clenched fist.

Gray laughed at his teammate's antics and shook his head. "Yeah, let's just focus on the issues we are facing right now. One problem at a time Ash." Gray said in an effort to steer the subject away from Leon and his gang.

"Way to be a buzzkill man." Ash said shaking his head. "Still though, I get ya. We do have a major problem on our hands, with all these slavers and what-not. It just trips me out man. Like how can someone do something like that to another person you know?

"You are absolutely right. I haven't really been able to wrap my head around the things that have been going on here either. I thought video games were supposed to be a place where people can just have fun and not have to worry about the troubles of real life. Now it's the complete opposite. We have an organization that has completely taken over the game and nobody knows why. Then you have a bunch of people auctioning off other people like this is the 1800's. It's insane."

"Well, maybe this is just one sick bastard's idea of fun and here we all are, tagging along for the ride." Ash commented on the harsh reality of the situation. It then dawned on both of them that this whole ordeal could in fact be someone's twisted version of fun. As someone who played role-playing games, Gray couldn't deny that being the bad guy was fun at times. He'd never thought about the possibility that this was all just some role-player's fantasy. All of a sudden, the most dangerous terrorist organization had just become a group of everyday video game fanatics. What made it all even crazier, was that neither Gray or Ash—or anyone for that matter could decide what was worse.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

The small city of Kirkland was thriving. Its citizens were beginning to produce a healthy number of crops and the townsfolk had cobbled together a sizeable militia. Raiders dared not tread anywhere near the city limits and makeshift turrets kept the ghouls away. All of this success could be attributed to the leadership skills of Ian Gregory. A famed military vet in the real world, Ian was no stranger to the mechanics of combat and when shit hit the fan—he was the one everybody followed. After a successful counterattack on the group holding the people of his vault hostage, 'General Gregory' led his people 20 miles through the miraculously untouched and radioactive free Colorado wilderness to an abandoned town just a few miles north of Denver.

In three days he'd managed to get everyone situated, outfitted, and positioned accordingly. His people never questioned him and he dared not to lead them astray. When the first Raiders came, his fellow settlers showed them what happened when others try and mess with the 'good people' of Kirkland. When the army of ghouls threatened to break through the barricades of the town, it was General Gregory's tactical wit that allowed them to hold their precious city. To say the accomplishments of the people of Kirkland were impressive would be a massive understatement. Everything that they had done was nothing short of a miracle. And it was all in thanks to General Gregory.

"All is clear. Returning home." The radio cackled in Gregory's office. Ian breathed a sigh of relief, finally hearing from the scout team that he'd sent to investigate sightings of a Deathclaw lurking around. He knew first-hand the sheer terror that Deathclaws presented. He'd lost twenty people in their voyage through the Colorado wilderness to one Deathclaw. It was pure chance that his knife brought the beast down, but not before the guilt that twenty people were dead had settled in.

"Thanks boys. Get back in one piece alright?" Gregory called over the radio.

"Will do General." One of the scouts said before cutting the chatter. Leaning back in his seat, Ian's mind began to wander back to his family back in the real world. He'd just returned from his third tour around Ukraine to see his beautiful wife and equally beautiful three-year-old daughter, only to end up trapped and away from his family again in the world of Fallout: Online. She was only a month when he was called to his third tour, as the Russian Federation continued to show signs of invading Ukraine and its neighboring countries. He'd seen many things in his time on the Asian continent, including some events that almost brought upon the Third World War. Luckily for him, the United States show of power was enough to keep the Russian Federation at bay. For now, at least.

He was beginning to doze off when he heard panicked chatter and gunshots on the radio.

"What the hell is that thing! Everybody get to cover, now!" he heard an officer say. Ian scrambled over to the desk and picked up the transceiver and barked into the radio:

"Boys! What's going on out there?"

"Sir! Something came out of the woods! It took out-GET DOWN!" The sound of super-heated laser blared on the radio, followed by several screams of agony.

"What's your status Sergeant!" Anger and worry present in his voice. No answer. "SERGEANT!" he had begun to lose hope and figured that the entire scouting party had been wiped out. "No—no—no—how could I let this happen?"

"G-al—" The radio was full of static. Hearing the sound of his one of his men breathed some life into the distraught General as he responded as quickly as he could.

"Sergeant! What's your status?" he repeated.

"The entire-wiped out—machine—you've got to warn the others!" The soldier's warning message was followed by the sound of a large mechanical screech and then—silence.

"Sergeant! Hello! Does anyone copy? I repeat—does anyone copy!" Even with the static, General Gregory understood what had happened to the scouting party. "DAMN IT!" he roared in frustration. _"The others…I've got to warn the others!"_ his mind raced, as he bolted out of his office and climbed up to the roof. He'd made his mind to set up shop in the town church, that way if he needed to get anyone's attention all he would need to do was ring the bell.

The bell's roar summoned everybody in the small town of Kirkland as they all converged on the center of town to hear the news. Everybody already knew this was going to be bad, as the two other times they'd used the bell it was about an invasion.

"People of Kirkland! Something has wiped out one of our scouting parties to the north of here! I don't know what it is or what they want, but they will not take our town! I need all the able bodied men and women to take up arms! To the women and children who won't be participating in the fight, you know where it is that you need to take shelter. You all know your positions! MOVE!"

The people scattered in every which direction as they raced to their respective locations. Ian descended from the rooftops and ran back to his office to oversee radio chatter and guide his militia to victory. He opened the window to his office as somebody ran in with a hunting rifle and took position. "Awaiting orders, Sir!"

"Sit tight. Look out for anything out of the ordinary. I wish I could say I knew what we were up against, but sadly we're flying blind. Whatever it was, it made quick work of the scouting party so as soon as anyone sees anything. Let me know." He announced over the radio and to his personal sniper.

"Sir, all the woman and children have been successfully evacuated to the 'Shelter'. Moving to join the South team."

"Roger. Stay vigilant." Ian replied.

"Acknowledged." The civilian said as he signed off. General Gregory knew that he wasn't dealing with real soldiers here, but in the short time that he managed to amount a militia he was proud of their ability to function like a military force. It was the only reason that they survived this long. For what seemed like an eternity, everything was quiet. Too quiet.

"Anything?" Ian asked, hoping that whatever it was up and walked away.

"The East Barricade is clear sir!"

"Nothing on the North! All clear!"

"I don't see anything hear on the Southside. We're clear!"

"All I see on the Western entrance are trees and an empty road. Nothing to report."

" _Nothing in all four directions. Where did it go?"_ The General wondered. "Keep watch! We don't know when this thing might show up." He ordered.

"Roger!" all four checkpoints called in unison.

Running a hand through his thick beard, Ian fell back into his chair and waited for the next report. Minutes went by as silence had enveloped the whole town of Kirkland. It was beginning to drive Ian mad. "Private, see anything?" he called to his personal sniper.

"No sir, nothing as of ye—" The sniper would never finish his sentence as a bullet sent his gray matter all over the walls.

"PRIVATE!" Ian roared as he caught the body of the now dead civilian. To make matters worse, the radio kicked to life as the Eastern team reported in.

"Sir! We've lost contact with the North team! Sounds of gunfire can be heard from their location! What are our orders!"

Remembering his duty as the leader of his people, General Gregory laid his fallen comrade down gently and broadcasted his voice over the radio.

"Hold position for now. We don't know how many of them there are yet and we don't need another breach because an area was left defenseless. I'll make contact with the North and update you from there." He said calmly.

"But sir—"

"I gave you an order, soldier! I suggest you follow it." Ian barked.

"Understood sir. Sorry sir." The soldier apologized before signing off. He understood their worry over the North team, but now wasn't the time for feelings, it was the time for wit. He needed to make contact with the Northern group to see what they were up against. With any luck the group from the North managed to take the damn thing down and that was the reason for their radio silence.

"This is General Gregory—does anyone copy? I repeat does anyone copy?"

No reply.

"Damn it! This is General Gregory—DOES ANYONE COPY!" he tried a second time.

"Yes! Yes—this is Private Tucker from the North team! Over!"

"Private Tucker what's your status!?" Ian asked, relieved that someone finally answered.

"Sir! We've sustained heavy casualties! We're up against a gi-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by the sound of heavy gunfire. "Shit!"

"What's going on out there!" Ian demanded. Never before had he faced a foe that caused him this much trouble. For the first time in his tenure as leader, Ian was worried about the safety of his people.

"Five more dead! Sir, we our weapons aren't doing us any good! This thing—it's on a whole another level!"

"What thing!? What the hell is it Private!?"

"It's some sort of Giant—"

Static followed as an explosion rocked the entire town of Kirkland. The radio clicked to life again as the three remaining teams reported in.

"What the fuck was that explosion!?"

"Sir! It came from the North! What do we do!"

"The entire Northern Brigade was wiped out! They're all gone! All of them! What the hell are we going to do now!?" Came all three of the panicked replies of the remaining team leaders.

"Alright everybody—keep calm—" Ian began an attempt to bring everyone back to speed on the situation.

"KEEP CALM! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING! The entire Northern Brigade was wiped out! I knew we should've moved in to help them damn it! My brother was over there! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!" Came the first interruption.

"Alex! That's no way to talk to the General! It isn't his fault and you know that!" The Southern team leader scolded the Eastern team leader.

"Man fuck this! If you guys want to just sit on your asses and argue then be my guest! I'm moving to engage!" The Western leader said in irritation.

Reaching for the transceiver, General Gregory was going to do his best to try and take control of the situation, but the words of another figure stopped him in his tracks.

"Funny how quickly people lose their trust in their leader the moment things start to go wrong." The voice said. With his senses in full alert, Ian jumped away from the desk and pinpointed the location of the voice. The figure was kneeling next to his dead comrade, gently stroking his face as if he'd known him.

"Get away from him!" Ian barked as he moved to engage the strange man.

"Ah-ah-ah, you'll stay right there General." The man stood up quickly and raised a pistol at him, halting his advance.

"Are you the one responsible for this attack?"

"So what if I am?" The man said, waving his pistol around carelessly. "It isn't like your militia is in any position to stop me." He finished with a wicked grin.

"What is it you're after? My people have done nothing to you!" Ian said as he jerked a finger towards the man.

"I'm after a lot of things General. Knowledge." He paused to move closer to Ian, who was growing more uncomfortable with the man's presence. Something wasn't right about him, but as it was now he was unarmed. One false move and he'd end up like the sniper. A corpse. "Wealth. _Redemption._ " The last one stirred something within General Gregory.

"Redemption? What, you a Raider or something?"

"You mean those low-life thugs? God no. Those miscreants don't hold a candle to me or my associates as I'm sure you could see. I've already got your precious city on the ropes General, or should I say Lieutenant Colonel Ian Gregory."

A chill ran down the General's spine. _"He—he knows who I am!? But how? Not even the townspeople know me! Who is this guy?"_

"What's the matter Colonel? You're looking a little pale." The man said with a laugh. He had made his way behind Ian and now was brandishing a very sharp knife against his throat. "What's a war hero like you got to be afraid of anyways?" The man said mockingly.

"Get away from me!" Ian roared as he elbowed the man in the gut and followed up by throwing him over his shoulder. The man recovered quickly and assumed a battle stance with his knife facing outward.

"Looks like I hit a nerve. What's the matter Colonel? Do you not like talking about your 'glorified' service to the United States?"

"Shut up." Ian was seething.

"February 28th, Skalat, Ukraine 2015. You and a platoon of men entered the village on 'suspicion that the villagers were Russian sympathizers and were training a militia.' 2:49AM you and your men find members of the Russian Federation holed up in a chemical facility producing an unknown toxin. 3:13AM The firefight begins. By 5:30AM every single Russian Federation member is dead. 1,235 innocent Ukrainians also lie dead. The Russian Federation claims that none of its troops had set foot on Ukrainian soil. The U.S. says none of its operatives went into Skalat. The UN declares the 1,235 innocent civilians dead, the cause of death? A 'chemical leak' at the Urbenov Facility. Do you know what the problem is with that story? Those 1,235 dead—over 676 of them suffered numerous bullet wounds. Does that sound like an effect of the chemical leaks?" The man asked, a hint of venom laced with every mention of the Ukraine civilians.

"So that's what this is about? This is the revenge that you're after. Let me guess, you're after the surviving members of that operation in order to avenge the deaths of your family."

"No. I don't care about the operation or what happened to the Ukrainian people you and the Russian Federation massacred. I was too young to develop any significant emotional ties. Oh no, this is about what happened after the cover-up. About what happened to all the children your governments' orphaned."

The sound of gunfire and screaming outside told Ian that his people weren't faring very well against the man's attack force. He needed to end this and soon, or else everyone would be dead before he knew it. "Look I'm sorry that you were orphaned at such a young age. Believe me, not a day goes by where I don't think about—"

"SHUT UP! Don't you dare say that you understand the horrors we were put through or that you feel sorry for the pain you caused. Do not insult the dead in such a heinous manner. You returned home and forgot all about us. You didn't try and find a home for the orphans. You left us to face a fate worse than death."

"A soldier never forgets. I may not understand the nightmares you went through, but I had plenty of nightmares of my own." Ian defended.

"Is that so? Why don't we put that to the test then? Let me show you the nightmare you created…" Before Ian knew what was going on, the man vanished into thin air.

" _What the!? Where did he go!?"_ he panicked as his eyes flitted about the room in an effort to find his attacker. When he saw no sign of him, that left only one place… _"behind me!"_ Turning in what could only be described as the 'nick of time', Ian gave himself enough time to get out of the way of the blade that was meant for the back of his neck.

Pivoting on his right foot, he grabbed hold of the man's arm and swung him around into a file cabinet that was next to his desk. With a twist of his arm, Ian successfully disarmed his opponent but left himself wide open for a vicious left hook that sent him reeling.

"I underestimated you General… I assure you, it won't happen again."

Spitting out the blood from his mouth, Ian responded by gesturing for the man to come back at him. With a smirk that rivaled the Devil's, the man lurched forward with a quick one-two punch that Ian managed to block before they hit their desired mark. That was not the end of the combo however, as the General leaped over a low-sweep kick leaving him defenseless in the air as the man rose to a crouch and caught Ian with a full-powered kick to the stomach. Crashing into the long weathered wall, Ian almost was sent flying out of the building as a portion of the wall crumbled behind him and fell into the streets below. Lucky for him he was able to grab on to an old pipe before falling to his death and jumped right back into the fight with a brutal right hook that managed to catch his opponent off guard.

Utilizing everything that he had learned from his military training, Ian followed up with a low kick to the leg that put the man off balance and a good jab to the jaw that sent his foe backpedaling. "Shouldn't have fucked with me!" he roared as he grabbed his head and slammed it into the brick wall. In a daze from Ian's devastating combo, the man made no move to defend himself from another kick that knocked him flat on his back. Seeing no reason to prolong an unnecessary fight, Ian made quick work of his struggling opponent by snapping his neck, effectively making him the victor in their duel.

The sounds of gunfire followed by numerous explosions and the shrieks of agony outside told Ian that there was still another foe to be fought. Rising to check the radio, Ian was hurled across the room when the wall behind him suddenly exploded and sent him crashing into the very thing he was about to check. The radio fell off the counter with a distinct ' _clunk'_ and tuned into some classical radio station.

"And now for all of you Classy people in the Wasteland, _La Donna é Mobile_!" the radio host said before cueing the next song.

"No, no, no, no!" Ian chanted as he messed with the dials on the radio in an attempt to make contact with his men. It was then that Ian heard something that rattled his core. Every hair on his body stood on end and an icy shiver snaked its way down his back. His breath hitched in his throat and he found that his body was bound to its very spot. _"I—Impossible!"_

"Shame on you, General. You know better than to turn your back to your enemy." Ian couldn't see his face, but he could practically feel the psychotic smile and blood lust that was directed toward him. Before he had any opportunity to gather himself, Ian was lifted off the floor and slammed onto the table. Having the wind knocked out of him Ian gasped for air but, his assailant would not give him the satisfaction by wrapping his hands around his throat. "And now, this is how you die." The crazed man said as he tightened his grip.

Ian flailed around desperately. He tried to kick at his attacker, but he was off to the right and out of range. His arms scoured the desk for anything that would help him escape the clutches of impending death. The General was holding out as long as he possibly could, but his vision was beginning to fade and he could swear that his eyeballs were going to pop out of their sockets from the sheer pressure his attacker placed on his neck. His movements slowed and he could feel himself slipping away. It would only be a few more moments now before the great General of Kirkland fell in battle.

However, luck seemed to favor the General in this day as his hand came across a sharpened pencil. While it wasn't quite the weapon he was hoping for, it proved just as efficient in aiding in his escape as he thrust it into his foe's neck. Given his weakened state, the attack was not of the 'table turning' caliber, but it was just enough puncture the skin. The man elicited a sharp cry of pain and loosened his hold enough for Ian to break free.

Classical music blared throughout the room, as Ian's lungs took in some much needed oxygen and the man seeking redemption pulled the pencil from his neck. "This has gone on long enough." He said before vanishing once more. Still recovering, Ian was left defenseless as the man reappeared before him to deliver a blow to his stomach. Ian keeled over and wheezed from the hit just as his opponent's knee came up to send him back upright.

Falling back against the table, Ian fought to keep himself upright as a right hook sent him stumbling toward his filing cabinet. Pulling the drawer open, Ian clumsily reached inside for a hidden magnum but he would prove too slow as the man slammed the drawer shut on his hand. The General's cry of agony was drowned out by the music. Hoisted to his feet, Ian found himself pressed up against the brick wall at the mercy of his opponent. The first punch jarred a couple of his teeth loose and filled his mouth with the taste of blood. The second hit came from the left and would have knocked him to the floor if he wasn't being held up.

On his last leg, Ian threw a wild left hook. He wasn't really expecting much from the attack and rightfully so, as it was easily blocked and countered with a nasty head-butt. His head bounced off the wall and before he knew it he was being flipped onto the old oak table in his office. The wood splintered from the force at which he was thrown down as the whole world around him seemed to grow more and more distant.

" _I can't die like this—my family—I need to get back to my family…"_ Ian subconsciously reached out toward the ceiling as images of his wife and daughter seemingly appeared in his mind's eye. The classical music faded out and Ian heard a distinct _'click'_ like someone had turned the dial. _Mr. Sandman_ started playing, the infamous _'Bum' 'Bum' 'Bum' 'Bum'_ of The Chordettes sent chills down Ian's spine as he was dragged off the table and across the floor.

 _Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream_

The General was thrown carelessly next to the gaping hole in his office. He heard the footsteps of his foe, but his vision was far too blurry to make out anything at this point. The only thing he could make out was shapes, as his assailant seemed to be at his filing cabinet. He heard him retrieve something heavy, but he couldn't quite discern what it was and at this point he really didn't think that it mattered.

 _Mr. Sandman bring us, please, please, please, Mr. Sandman! Bring us a dreeeeeam!_

The final line of the song and a gunshot would be the last thing the great General would hear as all semblance of life left his body. His blood stained the walls a thick crimson red as his opponent lowered the smoking .357 and holstered it. As soon as he was certain that the General was dead, the man pulled up his Pip-Boy and tuned the dial to another frequency.

"Was wondering when you'd report in. What took you so long Cain?" a voice said the moment he'd reached the desired frequency.

"The Lieutenant Colonel was much stronger than we originally anticipated. I had to make sure we didn't leave any 'loose ends'." Cain answered.

"Is that so? I take it then that he didn't accept our generous offer?" the voice asked.

"No." Cain said. The Canonical Five member knew that he never made the offer and never really intended to. This fight was personal and while he would acknowledge that Ian Gregory was a great leader, he knew that they'd be just fine without him.

"Well that's a god damn shame. Red isn't going to be too happy about that. He really thought this guy could be what our army needed. With the correct mentality of course, but that's nothing that some good old fashioned torture can fix right?"

"Perhaps." Cain replied.

"Ugh, Cain you're so boring. Don't you know how to hold a conversation?" The voice whined.

"I've got to go. I still have some loose ends to attend to. Speak to Red and have him send me the details on the next target. Goodbye, Five."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Go have fun with your giant robot already." Five said grumpily before signing off. Cain did the same and walked over to the radio that he'd seen the General using earlier. Turning the dial over, Cain listened for any radio chatter to find anymore possible stragglers.

"There you are." He said with a wicked smile when he picked up on a conversation between two squads whom were plotting an evacuation.

Unfortunately for the people of Kirkland, their General was dead and their 'evacuation' would never come to pass. Their mighty city and military prowess meant nothing to Cain and his diabolical contraption. No one would hear their screams. The mechanical roar of the Crow was the last sound to ever come out of Kirkland, as the great city fell to a man seeking redemption.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

Thalia knew that she'd stirred up some suspicion by leaving the way she did, but she just couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to tell him about the offer, about how she had a chance to get home, but how could she? "Oh, hey by the way, I can go home as long as I turn you in to Brett. Is that cool?" she mumbled to herself knowing how ridiculous that would have sounded.

The green-eyed beauty would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about following through with the offer and who could blame her? It wasn't like her and Gray were particularly close or anything, and she had an opportunity to get out of a game that had already taken the lives of so many. If it meant that she could see her father again and finally be safe, then to hell with everybody!

Or at least that's what she wanted to feel, but human morality was much more complicated than that and all Thalia was left with was this overwhelming feeling of guilt, and she hadn't even done anything yet! Yeah, of course she didn't really know Gray but, that didn't mean she wanted to screw him over just so she could get a ticket out of the game. After all, it was because of him that she was still alive. Between the few companions that she'd traveled with in the last week and a half, Gray was by far the most compassionate and generous of them. When she started thinking like this, she knew that she wouldn't be able to do it.

And that was what was tearing her apart. She had to choose between a complete stranger and her father, a task that most people wouldn't really hesitate much on. Then again, when asked in a question the answer was much easier said than done. She was living through with this. She was the one who had to make the sacrifice. This was more than just some question. It was a choice, and a very difficult one at that. If only there were a way to make her decision easier. If only…

"Giving him gifts are you? Doesn't seem like to me you're going to make the right decision here." She heard Brett's voice call from her right. Instantly, Thalia went on the defensive and was about to cry for help but realized that she was on the abandoned side of town and it was unlikely that anyone could hear her from this distance. "Woah, woah, hey now take it easy. You and I both know how this fight would play out if you were to attack me. I'm only here for a discussion." Brett said with exposed teeth.

Thalia wanted nothing more than to wipe the smile off of his face then and there, but she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance against the slaver. Besides, if she truly wanted to get home it would be in her best interests not to attack the guy who could help her. "What do you want?" she said in irritation, hands still raised defensively. Although she knew that it was unlikely that he'd try anything, she knew better than to let her guard down around him.

"For you to make the right decision. I wouldn't want to have to come after you if you went and did something stupid now. " He replied with his arms crossed.

"Since when do you care about what I do? You sold me off to a group of Raiders. You don't care about anyone but yourself." Thalia pointed out angrily.

"That's just the nature of the business babe. Surely, you must know that I was only doing what I had to. Come on, babe. You've got to let that g—"

"Bullshit. I don't want to hear it. Don't act like you ever cared about me and don't talk to me like I'm one of your groupies." Thalia said as she aimed her pipe rifle at Brett who raised an eyebrow at her sudden show of force.

"You dare raise a rifle at me? Do you have a death wish or something, toots?" he teased.

"What the fuck do you want? I'm not going to repeat myself. Either speak now or leave me be." Thalia shot back, ignoring his questions.

"Okay, if that's how you want to play it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean I already told you what I wanted. I thought I was pretty clear myself, but since you didn't seem to get my message allow me to make it clearer for you." Thalia didn't even have time to blink as her rifle was shot out of her hands and she found herself pinned against the wall with a bullpup magnum pressed to her forehead. "You WILL bring Gray to Silverfort in two weeks along with your new 'friends'. If for some reason you decide to disobey me I will hunt you down and when I find you I'm going to kill every one of your friends as you watch helplessly knowing that this was all your fault. Then when I get my hands on Gray, I'm going to make him watch as I kill you, slowly and painfully. I'll be sure to get a video of your death to your father too just so he can watch as his precious daughter dies before him and there won't be a damn thing he could do about it. So, I'd suggest you do the SMART thing and be at Silverfort in two weeks. Do I make myself clear?" he said in a low but threatening voice.

Thalia nodded in response as her whole body was trembling from head to toe. Brett released her and backed away as she helplessly slumped down to the ground. He smiled in satisfaction knowing that he'd gotten his message across this time and left before anyone could come and investigate the sound of gunfire.

The green-eyed beauty curled up against the shack wall and let her emotions loose. Her tears left streaks across her cheeks as it began to rain in the Grand Wasteland. She'd never been more afraid and never felt such hopelessness. She was all alone, with no one to help her—and no one would come. So, Thalia just laid there and cried in the rain. Oh, how she wanted a knight in shining armor—but this wasn't some fairy tale. There were no happy endings in this world, just life and death. Now she understood the true nature of the Wasteland and while it terrified her, she knew better than to try and challenge it. The only person she needed to look out for was herself.

And thus, the decision she was having so much trouble figuring out was made up for her. No longer did the well-beings of others take precedent in her mind. If she wanted to survive and get home, she was going to do whatever it took. Surely, the members of Binary Squad would understand her situation. After all, it wasn't like she had much choice in the matter anyways— _right?_

" _Yes, of course they would. They understood that it was survival of the fittest. They would be happy for me. Happy that I made it out. Yes, that is how they will feel. They have to be. How else could they feel? They'd be acting selfish if they took away my chance to be free. Real friends wouldn't get in the way of my chance for survival. If they did, then they'd be just like everyone else-looking out for themselves. Gray will understand. They all will. I'm doing the right thing. I'm doing the right thing. I am doing the right thing."_ She convinced herself with what little sanity she had left.

Thalia wasn't crying anymore. She didn't feel guilty anymore. All of her conflictions were gone. She had found the solution that she was seeking. All she had to do was tell herself—

 _I'm doing the right thing._

Ain't that a kick in the head?

 _ **A/N:**_ _And Chapter Ten is in the books! I originally was going to have this out for you all on Tuesday, but I got into a nasty car accident and had to spend a few days in the hospital. After I got out, I just didn't have the energy to do much and that included the desire to finish off the rest of this chapter. Still, I got the writing bug back voila! Chapter Ten! Can you Wastelanders believe it? We've got ten chapters in this story of mine! WE HIT THE DOUBLE DIGITS! Thank you to all of you readers, who made this story possible. I really appreciate you guys. It's why I continue to crank out this stuff! Anywho, REVIEW RESPONSE TIME!_

 _MaxGentlman1: Yeah, can you believe it? I had no idea I was going to hit ten chapters when I first started this. I honestly didn't even have a plot. Just an idea—lots of blood and stuff. Now here I sit, with an actual outline and characters and—TEN CHAPTERS! No doubt, your contributions have also helped me come a long way in this story so thank you for that and thank you for your reviews! Happy reading!_

 _And that was the one! Hm, maybe I'll get some more next time? Lookin' at you guys. Wink* Wink* Nudge* Nudge*_

 _Haha! I'm kidding, but I do have a very important announcement to make:_

 _Like I've stated before, I started this off of a whim and without much direction. While I am proud that I have come this far, I know that I have left a lot of plot holes and probably contradicted myself more often than not. Kinda happens when you're new to this stuff you know? Anyway, the first chapter is a special little guy, because it was mostly just me writing for the hell of it. Now that I go back and look at it, I will admit that it needs some work—A LOT OF WORK—so I am currently overhauling the first chapter of this story to better suit the story as it is now. If you liked the first chapter, don't worry I can assure you that you'll love the NEW CHAPTER ONE. (Especially if you happen to be Metal Gear and Horror fans!) With that being said, if any of you have any requests or would like to see some other chapters reworked please feel free to let me know._

 _Other than that I think that I have concluded my spiel here. You guys know the drill by now right? If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions please feel free to shoot me a PM or leave a review! Until next time Wastelanders, Frosty out!_


	11. Chapter 11: Escape

Disclaimer: I do not **own Fallout or any of its characters nor do I own Sword Art Online or any of its characters**

Chapter 11: Escape

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

 _January 9_ _th_ _, 2015_

The sun was still shining and the air was a bit cooler, but everything at the orphanage changed. No one orphan knew why things played out like they did, but many were starting to connect the dots. It was when that boy came, that outsider that no one wanted anything to do with. That's when it began to happen. Under the old system, the kids would have given that Travis a piece of their mind, but things were different now. The children dared not anger the Men in Black Suits.

They just showed up one morning, a whole load of them—asking questions and rifling through things like a bunch of big dumb jerks. Mrs. Mercado spoke out against them and the kids rallied behind her, throwing toys and shouting playground insults like they were really hurting them. The outburst didn't affect the stoic invaders all that much and Mrs. Mercado was whisked away and none of the kids had seen her since. A couple of rumors started to spread amongst the kids about the fate of their beloved teacher. Scary stories of Mrs. Mercado's murder at the hands of the Black Suits generated both fear and hatred amongst the children. Granny came along to quell the rumors after a while, telling everybody that "she went home.", in an effort to stop some of the older kids from scaring the younger ones. Of course, the older ones didn't believe her but, it did help the younger ones sleep better at night.

That still didn't dispel the general fear that everyone seemed to have about these mysterious men who showed up out of nowhere. Other than their hushed talk amongst one another none of the orphans had ever heard one of them speak. They just stood there, each one accompanied by another that was no more than six feet apart and watched them. Their attempts to talk to them proved pointless as they never replied and in their frustrations, a couple of kids decided to show them "who's boss."

None of those kids were seen around the orphanage afterwards. Granny appeared once again to quell the nasty rumors, this time explaining to everybody that they were 'adopted'. No one believed Granny this time, because at this orphanage, nobody got adopted. Of course, they kept quiet and nodded their heads. The Black Suits, as the children called them, were watching. In the privacy of their own rooms however, a different story was told as the orphans agreed to be on their best behavior to avoid 'adoption'.

Two orphans in particular however, weren't all that affected by the suited men. Katrina Alfina, the most popular orphan at Rising Sun and lover of all things orderly. Although she didn't really like the Black Suits, she had nothing against them either. All she did was complied, especially when they implemented the Three Rules. Rule Number One: All children are to be in bed by 8:30. Rule Number Two: Every child must remain within sight of at least one suited official. Rule Number Three: Under _**NO**_ circumstances, is any child permitted to leave the Rising Sun Orphanage _**UNLESS**_ that child has been 'adopted'. While others expressed discontent for the new rules, Katrina just decided it'd be better to follow them. It wasn't like any of the new rules made any drastic changes to her life anyways. The new system was the least of her problems, as she was preoccupied with a promise she made to herself concerning the other orphan who remained unfazed by the sudden changes brought upon them.

Travis Redford had a very different reason for his apparent disregard for the happenings at Rising Sun Orphanage. He was very well aware that some of the other kids were blaming him for what was going on and he knew that he wasn't well liked either. A normal child facing those kinds of issues would have a tough time dealing with them, but Travis was no normal kid. The pronounced troublemaker didn't even try to hide it, he just didn't care.

"This is all your fault!" some of the more daring kids yelled at him. Now, Travis didn't care much for rules but he wasn't a complete idiot. While he wasn't too keen on letting the others blame him for something he definitely had no control over, he also wasn't going to try anything funny while the Black Suits were watching. Distant as he was, he had heard enough about the recent 'adoptions' that he knew better than to go about causing a scene with the new system. Still, that wasn't going to stop him from having a little fun.

"You're right." He would say. Travis always found the surprised looks on their faces to be priceless after he agreed with them. "It is all my fault. The 'adoptions' are also my fault too. So, unless you want to end up like the other orphans, I would suggest that you losers leave me alone." He'd add in afterward. Of course, Travis had no such power but the rest of the orphans were too afraid to try and call him out on it so they (reluctantly) let him be.

"Whatever. They can't protect you forever." They'd puff one last time before going back to whatever it was they were doing. Travis didn't get it. He hadn't done a damn thing since he got here but, avoid everybody and blow off that girl, and everybody managed to find a way to hate him. Not that he cared, but it just didn't make any sense to him. How could they be so quick to pass judgement on him when none of them even bothered to learn more about him?

" _Ehhh—forget em! They're just a bunch of losers anyway."_ He shrugged it off as he lay in his bed. Everyone else had gone off to play outside, but Travis preferred the peace and quiet that was his own room. Besides, he didn't have to be worried about being watched by the Black Suits as the children's rooms were the only place they were not allowed. It was the only hole in their system and Travis figured it out perfectly. They couldn't force their way into his room nor could they bring him out of it, at least until they found out where he was hiding. All Travis had to do was show up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everything was perfect for the young boy. That was, until he heard a knock on his door.

Knowing he wasn't supposed to be in his room, Travis dared not make a sound. The knock came again, this time with more force than before. _"Damn! Someone must've ratted on me. I need to find a place to hide and fast!"_ Frantically searching around his empty room, Travis looked for a good hiding spot. The knocking only grew more violent and more frequent as the seconds passed on. Travis did not have long before whoever was knocking broke their way in. _"Shit! Shit! Shit!"_ his mind raced. With time running out, Travis slipped into his closet and buried himself beneath all his dirty clothes. He managed to hide just in time too, as he heard the door to his room unlock and Granny came in.

"All that bashing to find that he isn't in here. I have half a mind to knock you upside the head! These doors ain't cheap you know!" She scolded someone after a quick scan of the room.

"Sorry about that. Any idea where he could have snuck off too?" a voice that Travis had never heard before asked from outside his room. From its pitch he could tell it was a man and that it wasn't anybody that he'd ever heard in his time at the foster home. Just hearing the man speak sent shivers down his spine. He had a bad vibe to him and the fact that he was looking for him made Travis even more afraid.

"No, I do not, sadly. Travis has had some issues with the other kids. After everything that he's been through I don't blame him. I just wish he'd warm up soon. It's not good for a child to be so isolated like he is." Granny revealed. Hearing how the head of the orphanage felt about his behavior made Travis feel a little guilty. All this time he was acting like no one cared about him that he was just another lost cause. He never expected someone to actually care about how he felt or about what he was doing.

"I understand your concern for the boy. Hopefully after spending some time with us, he'll learn how to get along with others and appreciate the things he has now." The man soothed. Again, Travis had this feeling that this man was nothing but trouble and should be avoided at all cost. It was like listening to a walking snake, and Travis hated snakes.

"I sure hope so. You gentleman have done a fine job of disciplining some of these kids. How are the others doing? Did they move on to find nice families?" Granny asked.

"I can assure you ma'am, those kids are as happy as can be." Even from within his closet, Travis could hear the crooked smile of the man outside of his room.

"Wonderful! Those kids really do deserve the best. Thank you for all you work Mr. C! Now, what do you say we go find Travis and tell him the news?"

"Of course! Lead the way." Mr. C. replied as the duo left his room in a hurry. As soon as he was sure that they were gone, Travis crawled his way out of the closet and over to his open door. The hall was empty, devoid of any Black Suits or children. While he wasn't sure what the news was, Travis had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be good news. If Granny was going to hand him over to that man for 'adoption', then he needed to find a way out of the foster home and quick. After listening to the stories of what happened to the other kids, Travis wasn't about to allow himself to suffer the same fate. Retreating back to his closet, Travis donned his backpack and went through its contents to make sure he had everything he needed for his upcoming escape.

" _Snacks? Check. Bandages? Check. Flashlight? Check. Batteries? Check. Knife? Check. Compass? Check. Journal? Check. Water? Check. Clothes? Check. Alright, looks like I have everything that I'm going to need. All I need to do is get into Granny's office to get the keys and sneak past the Black Suits and I'm home free."_ He thought to himself. Having spent years dodging his drug-addicted parents and the police that searched for him, Travis was a natural when it came to slipping away unnoticed. _"Hmm, what time is it?_ " he wondered as he reorganized his bag with his equipment. Grabbing the watch that was lying on top of the drawer next to his bed, Travis saw that it was almost time for dinner. _"5:48. Dinner will be in 12 minutes and that's when most of the Black Suits will be in the dining hall along with the rest of the children. If I can make it to the bathrooms on the other side of the dining hall unnoticed, I should be able to get out using the small bathroom window, then I wouldn't need to get into Granny's office."_ He took a break from his mental planning to put on a black hoodie and pants. When he finished changing he put on a pair of wool gloves and thick socks, packing his shoes tightly into his bag for when he got outside. _"Alright! I shouldn't make much noise in this getup. Now, where was I?"_ he paused to recollect. _"Ah! That's right, the dining hall escape. If I go there, I'll definitely make it to the bathrooms the quickest, but there are Black Suits guarding every exit. I could tell them that I need to use the restroom, but with Granny and that man looking for me, they'd probably turn me over before letting me go. Even if they did let me use the restroom, if I didn't come out soon they would probably figure out I escaped and would come searching for me right away. Then again, that can't be any different than what Granny and that Mr. C. guy are doing right now."_

He continued to test different scenarios in his head, making sure to go over every possible outcome. While he didn't know to what extent that he was currently being searched for, he did know that it was only a matter of time before they organized a search party. With time being his biggest enemy, Travis knew that he had to leave sooner than later or risk being caught in the orphanage or during his escape. _"5:52._ _Only eight minutes until they call everyone for dinner. Mostly everyone will be in the dining hall, including the Black Suits. If I take the hallway on the left, I can cut through the garden which will take me to the classrooms. If I bounce from room to room to avoid any Black Suits, I'll be able to get around the dining hall and to the restrooms. If I take the hallway on the right, I am heading straight for the dining room. I can take my chances and try walking into the restrooms and hope that they won't notice me. Given the amount of people it is possible but, not necessarily the best choice. It seems my best option is to take the left hallway."_ He finally concluded his escape plan. With everything set in motion, Travis slipped into his backpack and pulled his hood over his head. To be safe, he went over everything in his head one last time to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything that might throw a wrench in his plans.

Then came the wrench…

"Uh, what're you doing?" came the voice of the girl that he'd blown off when he first arrived. Her sudden appearance was enough to jump scare Travis back into his drawer.

"Gah!" was the only sound he could make as he managed to catch himself from tumbling to the ground. "Grrr—what the hell! Don't you knock!?" he questioned angrily as he quickly recomposed himself. Katrina had to hold back a giggle as she watched him recover from his jump scare. In truth, she didn't mean to scare him. She was just passing by on her way to the dining hall when she noticed that he was alone in his room looking through a backpack. Her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to investigate.

"The door was open." She said simply. "What's in the bag?" she asked curiously.

"None of your business. Now leave me alone!" Travis replied quickly. Unwilling to let him blow her off a second time, Katrina stood her ground.

"Not until you tell me what's in the bag." She said with her arms crossed. _"Ha! I've got him now!"_ she thought in triumph.

"Why does it matter to you what I have?"

"It doesn't matter to me. I just want to know. Is there anything wrong with that?" she countered.

"Yes." He answered.

"What?"

"It's none of your business." He repeated.

"That's not a reason."

"Is too." He argued.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"UGH! I don't have time for this!" Travis gave up as he swung his backpack on and made to leave the room. Only problem was, Katrina wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily. "Get out of the way!" he demanded as she kept stepping in front of him.

"I told you, if you tell me what's in the bag then I'll leave you alone."

"Like I'd ever…" he said beneath his breath.

"GRANNY!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Hey! Keep it down will ya? Jeez, you're really serious about this aren't you?"

"Yup." She answered with a nod of her head.

"Fine—if it'll get you to leave me alone." He finally gave in, much to Katrina's excitement. "In this bag, is a special surprise that I've been working on that all of us are going to have so much fun playing with. I know that I'm not liked here very much and so, I thought if maybe I did something for everyone, then we could all get along. Y'know? But, now that you know about my secret you can't tell anybody about what I'm doing. It'd only ruin the surprise and all my hard work." He lied.

"Oh my gosh! Really? Is that why you've been by yourself all this time? To work on this gift for everyone?" The sparkle in her eye told Travis that she actually bought his story. All he needed to do now was sell it and he'd be on his way to freedom.

"Yes, but remember—you can't tell ANYBODY about this or else it'll ruin the surprise. I'm going to go set it up right now so that tomorrow we can all play with it."

"YES! SEE! I knew you weren't all that bad. Don't worry Travis, your secret is safe with me! I know how everyone's been treating you lately and it's horrible. Hopefully when tomorrow comes they will all see how wrong they were about you!" she exclaimed happily.

"I sure hope so." He answered, feeling a little bad about how he treated her before. This girl was the first person in the orphanage to even bother learning his name and furthermore, she was perhaps the only person who didn't think he was a lost cause. _"Maybe if I hadn't—OH what am I saying!? It's too late for friends now—come on Travis! Don't let her get to you!"_ he mentally berated himself.

"I know so." She reassured him with a smile. "Well, I guess I'm going to let you go now but before I do—just one more thing."

"What's that?" he asked, hoping it wouldn't be another question.

"When you're done setting up the surprise—maybe if you know—you want somebody to sit by during dinner, you can always sit by me." She said with a faint blush.

"Good to know. Now if you don't mind, it's not like I have all day to get this thing set-up now." He said with a little gesture for her to get out of the way.

"Oh! Of-f course!" she nodded her head in embarrassment before stepping out of the way to let Travis through. He stepped past her without another word and breathed a mental sigh of relief.

" _I can't believe she actually bought that!"_ he thought incredulously as he tried to look as normal as possible while checking his surroundings. The last thing he needed was another barrage of questions that would cost him more time.

"Travis?"

"Yeah?" he replied whilst hiding his irritation.

"If you don't mind, can I just ask you one more question?"

"Fine, but make it quick." He agreed reluctantly.

"Why did you wait this long—I mean—why be alone all this time?" she asked.

The question caught Travis off guard. Given his treatment over his brief stay at the orphanage, Travis didn't think that anyone cared about him especially not someone that he deliberately yelled at to leave him alone. "Hmm—I don't really know. Maybe it is because it's the only thing I've ever really known." He answered honestly. Travis then disappeared around the corner before Katrina could ask him another question, but despite his rush he could not deny the feelings that had surfaced because of her.

Katrina found the response heartbreaking.

As he raced down the hallway, his mind pondered over the things that could have been if only he'd acted differently. Maybe he would have friends that he could count on. Or maybe he would have ended up the most-liked orphan of all. Maybe—just maybe he could have mended the relationship between his parents. The more he thought about the maybe's in his life, the more upset he became. He realized that was all that they were going to be. He didn't need to spend his time pondering the 'what-ifs' because he was currently facing the 'right-now'. Maybe he could have had a different life, but none of that mattered now—because his only focus was on his escape.

 _ **Current Day…Fallout Online**_

"Ooooohhh man! I know that this is just noodles in cup, but this stuff is HEAVEN ON EARTH!" Ash cheered as he slurped down the last of his instant meal. Ash's outburst was the first break of silence that enveloped the room after the duo realized that they could be living some sick roleplayer's fantasy.

"You can say that again." Gray agreed. Since narrowly escaping his vault, Gray hadn't had much of a meal in his time in the Wasteland. He was always getting himself caught up in something and for once, it felt relaxing to take a break from it all—even though it meant he had to be put through the ringer to do so. "Thanks Ash, I needed that."

"The hell you thanking me for? I used your share of the funds to buy it." He laughed to himself. Gray raised an eyebrow and thought about saying something, but ultimately thought against it since he hadn't really done anything to earn his share.

"Fair enough. So, what's the plan for tomorrow then? Thalia told me that Rias is planning to get after the trail on a couple of Slavers heading toward Silverfort." Gray asked to spark up a conversation.

"She said that? I know that Rias plans to go after a couple of slavers here soon, but not tomorrow. It was my understanding that Rias was planning to get more information before making her move. I'm guessing she didn't want us to go on a wild goose chase with just some old lady claiming where they were heading." Ash explained. "Then again I wouldn't take my word for it though. Rias does seem to hate my guts…" he began.

"She doesn't hate you—"

"Say that to my arm man!" Ash interrupted with fake tears. "Haha! But in all seriousness though—I'd hate to be you right now. She is P-I-S-S-E-D at you my friend. I'd keep my arms at my sides if I were you." He joked.

"I don't think she's going to break my arm Ash." Gray replied with a smile.

"Bullshit! If she doesn't I'm calling bullshit!" He started to make a fuss.

"Why?" Gray chuckled. Finally growing tired of his cot, Gray stretched and stood up. For the first time in the last couple of days he didn't feel any sort of pain. _"I really do heal quicker here. The doctor said I'd be out for weeks. Then again, he wasn't a real doctor so what does he know? Still, I feel amazing."_

"What do you mean why!? Because—because that's discriminatory! Your arm is just as breakable as my arm is!" Ash cried out.

"As true as that may be, the satisfaction just won't be the same." Rachel surprised the two males.

"Aw shit! Who invited the Dragon Lady!?" Ash complained.

"Hey Rachel." Gray waved.

"Gray." She acknowledged with a bow of her head. "And another outburst like that and I'll shove my boot so far up yours that you'll be shitting leather for a month." She said with a look that practically invited Ash to test her patience. After the last few days he had, Ash decided not to try his luck this time around and gulped before saying:

"As heavenly as that sounds, I think I'll pass."

Gray chuckled at the exchange between the two, but switched demeanors when he addressed the elephant in the room. "Alright, as much as I'd love to hear you two bicker the rest of the night, I think it'd be best for everyone if we just got right down to it. What brings you here Rachel?" he asked. It wasn't like he didn't already know why she showed up, but confirmation never really hurt anyone did it?

"What? I can't visit a friend?" she said somewhat defensively. Her response earned her an incredulous look from both Gray and Ash. "Why are you looking at me like that!?" she turned a cold shoulder towards them like it'd fend off the stares the duo had sent her.

"I think we can agree that our relationship has not reached that point in development." Gray replied, earning a defeated sigh from Rachel.

"Alright, you got me. I'm here because of Rias." She admitted.

Gray's stomach sank, as Rachel confirmed what he already knew. "Did she send you?" Gray asked.

"No." she said quickly. The blonde sniper leaned uncomfortably against the wall, seemingly debating on how she should proceed. Her behavior was unlike any she had shown since they agreed to become a group, signaling to Gray and Ash that whatever she had to say wasn't going to be good news. "Look, Rias can be—somewhat stubborn." She said.

"No shit!" Ash cried out, happy that someone other than him had finally said it. Rachel sent him an icy glare, but ignored the outburst and continued.

"With that being said—I'm sure Ash has already told you, but Rias hasn't been herself these last few days. Normally, I'd just let this all resolve itself but since we are pressed for time I think it'd be in everyone's best interests to not let this drag out."

"Okay. So why come to me first? Isn't Rias supposed to be your best friend?" Gray argued, unsure of why he was being singled out first. He didn't say it outright, but Rias did overreact that night.

"You go ahead and try reasoning with Rias when she's angry." She laughed at the irony of the situation. Honestly, she was just glad she wasn't the one that Rias was upset with.

"Yeah, but you didn't just come here to tell me that there was a problem. The whole reason you're even here is because you want me to do just that." Gray pointed out.

"Well, you saved me from having to explain that part. To be fair though, this whole conflict started because of you—"

"No." Gray interrupted. "She overreacted. She started this. Not me." He defended himself.

"Okay, but that doesn't change the fact that we still have a problem. Look, I don't care about who's right or who's wrong. The only thing I care about is that we move past this stupid argument." Rachel responded.

"Then why is it on me to fix something that I didn't even start? Frankly, I don't even have a problem with her." Gray countered.

"Because Rias won't." she said seriously. "Do you really think that I would come all the way down here to convince you of something if I could convince Rias to do the same? You made it clear yourself, we aren't friends, but we are teammates and I'm asking for your help."

"What if she won't listen to me?" Gray asked.

"Then you make her listen. You did when we held at you gunpoint and you did when you made it clear you weren't going to give her the names of the people who put you in this place. There are not a lot of people who could say that they've stood up to Rias without paying the price. Whether you believe it or not, she respects you. Look Gray, I'm not telling you to go and apologize. All I want is for you to put this conflict to an end. Is that too much for me to ask?" Rachel said with her hands on her hips.

"When it's Rias—yes." He chuckled, much to Rachel's disappointment. "However…" Gray began, knowing he'd caught Rias' second in command off guard. "That doesn't mean I won't try." He grinned. Rachel smiled with delight and although she didn't say it, her respect for Gray had grown a little bit. She still had her doubts on exactly why Rias recruited them, but the more time she spent with Ash, Thalia, and Gray, the more she was beginning to see what Rias saw in them.

"Good. See you tomorrow then!" Rachel said having finished her business.

"Not so fast. I'll only do this on one condition."

"What?" Rachel whipped back around to make sure she heard Gray right.

"Everyone has to be there. You, Kota, Thalia, and Ash."

"Why?" she asked.

"You said it yourself, we're teammates aren't we? It's one thing to face Rias on my own, it's another for us to show her that we can stand together even in our disagreements." Gray argued.

"Huh." Rachel shook her head in disbelief. "Yes, yes I did. Kota and I will be there. You can count on us—and for what it is worth—thanks." She gave a nod of approval before bowing out of the small room, leaving Ash and Gray alone once more.

"Man, I'd hate to be you right now. Talk some sense into Rias? That sounds like talking to a wall—a wall that can break your arm if you say something that's even slightly offensive. Yeah, the odds are not in your favor my friend." Ash sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"When have they ever been?" Gray countered. Having stood long enough Gray fell onto his cot and stared up at the ceiling. Although his last comment seemed dismissive about his upcoming battle, deep down he was dreading it. The problem wasn't Rias at all. Gray's worries were all about was what he was going to say. The last thing he wanted to do was make the situation worse than what it already was. _"Guess I'll just have to figure it out."_

"Whoa man. That's deep." Ash laughed. "You okay dude? Don't go getting all depressed on me now Gray." He wagged his finger, earning a chuckle from Gray.

"Shit. I won't if you won't." Gray joked.

"Ha ha! Now that's a promise I can get behind!" Ash cheered. "Well man, I think I'm gonna head on back to the hotel for the night. I'm pretty beat and I'm gonna need all the rest I can get for tomorrow's bout with Rias." Ash yawned as he rose to his feet and stretched.

"No one is going to fight tomorrow. I'm just going to try and reason with her. That's all."

"Ha! You say that now. Until tomorrow!" Ash waved and exited the room.

"Later man." Gray called before shifting to his side and getting himself comfortable. _"Tomorrow's going to be a looooong day."_ He groaned. With one last sigh, Gray closed his eyes and waited for his dreams to take him. Unfortunately for him, a certain resident within had other plans.

 _In Gray's Subconscious…_

" _Hey! Welcome back!" Big Blue greeted him as he came to._

 _Gray felt groggy, like he hadn't gotten any sleep in the last week. "What? Oh—hey BB." He yawned as he took a moment to collect himself. The lab-like room had changed since the last time he'd been there. There was now one giant computer screen at the far end of the room that was hooked up to some sort of console. He watched as BB manned the console and brought up some files on the large monitor before turning around to face him. "Where's Little Blue and CB?" he asked curiously._

 _Big Blue reached up and tapped her forehead twice before responding. "They're up here for now, resting. Being apart really puts a strain on her—them—or—er—us." She stammered._

" _I see." Gray replied. "Well, what'd you need? I assume we are speaking for a reason?"_

" _Precisely! Remember what I said just before we ran out of time the last time we got together?"_

" _Hmm." Gray crossed his arms. "I remember you saying a lot of crazy things. Let's see, wasn't it something about you helping me for me helping you?"_

" _So you do remember. Well Gray, we've got a lot to talk about and plenty of time unlike before. Are you ready to begin?" she asked._

" _Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice anyways, but yeah I'm ready."_

" _Okay, let's start at the beginning. Are you familiar with the concept of 'Virtual Self?'" she began._

" _I've heard it once before, a girl named Eve explained it to me during our escape of Vault 406. From what I understood, it has to do with a person's memories within the virtual world. They can use whatever skills that they've learned from other VR games and apply them, but within reason."_

" _There is much more to it than that. It was a good thing that she mentioned that there were limits to the things a person can do while in VR. Did she happen to go into detail with those restrictions?" BB asked._

" _No. We didn't really have the time to get into specifics." The memory of Vault 406's events caused Gray to shudder noticeably. The events of that day still caused him nightmares. It seemed like every other day, Gray would wake up screaming in the dark of night. His teammates would send him their puzzled looks but, he'd just turn over and ignore them. While Binary Squad thought he'd gone back to sleep, Gray would just lay there—hurled up in a little ball of silence. Every time they brought it up, Gray would just tell them it was just a nightmare. He couldn't bring himself to talk about what happened. He didn't know if he ever could._

" _That is—unfortunate." BB replied, noticing her host's change of behavior. "Allow me to explain them in greater detail. Since you are familiar with the overall concept of 'Virtual Self', you understand that it encompasses your entire being through the virtual dimension, yes?" She paused and resumed when Gray nodded his head in understanding. "In theory, this means that a person could learn complex physical skills that they would not have normally been able to learn in a real-life setting. Without fear of injury or any physical limits like fatigue, this method provides an accelerated learning experience, as everything the person does is actually a mental action."_

" _So, essentially what you are saying is as long as I can think of performing the action then I can actually do it?" Gray asked for clarification._

" _Almost. It's basically taking the skills that you have learned from other simulations and applying them here. That is the catch."_

" _Alright, this is all useful information and everything—but, I'm sure this is common knowledge to most VR players by now. How does this give me an edge?" Gray asked._

" _It is the fundamental principle of everything you do in this world. While this information may be subconsciously known to VR players across the globe, many of them do not know just how much their 'virtual memories' can take them."_

" _Yeah, but that is just a general rule of combat anyways. At this point, the only advantage I have is that I can learn new moves in less than half the time, and that advantage also applies to everyone else." Gray pointed out._

" _True, but everyone else doesn't have someone else living inside their head do they?"_

" _I would hope not." Gray chuckled._

" _Essentially, we are two brains in one. That means your memories are mine and mine are yours. Not only do you have access to all the things that I have learned but, can also learn twice the amount of information. As an extension to your subconscious, we can perform simulations within your head that can help you learn new combat mechanics quicker and although it isn't much—I picked up on a few self-defense techniques that I learned during my—sessions—that I could teach you." The way she stressed the word 'sessions' told Gray that BB had her own nightmares to confront. While he did like the idea of sharing a conscious to gain an advantage, he wasn't too fond of being able to witness the things that she went through or that she could rifle through his memories at any given moment._

" _Okay, this is really cool and all, but I'm not really sure how comfortable I am with someone being able to go through my personal memories. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't exactly want to see the things you went through either." Gray admitted._

" _Understandable, but you don't have to worry about any of that. See, even though we share a conscious, we are still two separate people within. It's why we haven't been finishing each other's sentences. I can't read your mind and you cannot read mine. Anything we share will be because we want to share it. Make sense?"_

" _Well that answers that I guess. So when can I start learning those self-defense techniques you talked about?" he asked with a wide grin. BB shook her head at the gesture. She knew that he'd want to get right down to business as soon as he learned about her offering, but there were still things that she needed to discuss with him beforehand._

" _As soon as I finish explaining all the ins and outs of our wondrous new relationship."_

" _Great. So, what if I don't have a 'virtual memory'?" Gray asked out of the blue._

" _What?" BB raised an eyebrow._

" _Like—what if this is my first VR game."_

" _You're joking right?"_

 _Her answer alone was enough to convince Gray that his lack of a 'virtual memory' was not exactly beneficial. "Yes?" He said, unsure of himself._

" _Oh my—you're actually serious." BB said, slapping a hand to her forehead. She massaged her temple as she contemplated on how to move past this setback._

" _What? It's not my fault that the Virtual Gear RIG is so damn expensive! Not everybody just has 500$ just lying around!" Gray defended himself._

" _The millions of players logged onto this game says otherwise." BB countered._

" _Okay, that's beside the point." Gray dodged her rebuttal._

" _How is that beside the point!?"_

" _Look—who cares? It isn't like I've never played video games in my life, alright? I just haven't happened to have done it in Virtual Reality. Can't I just use my experience from the games I played on the Zbox and the GameStation?"_

" _There is a possibility, but there is no guarantee that it will actually work. In theory, if your memory was good enough to perfectly recall the skills you learned from those games, we could use that as a template for you to learn them here."_

" _Then what's the problem then!?" Gray cried out._

" _That I can't turn you into a ruthless killing machine."_

" _Whoa, calm down, Satan." He said, earning a laugh from Big Blue._

" _I was only joking." She laughed it off. "The problem is that we have to rely on your memory of how you saw those things being performed. Mashing a button and pushing a joystick doesn't exactly translate to experience. Not only that, as a first time VR player—all of your senses are still 'fresh'. Your mental receptors—"_

" _English." Gray interrupted._

" _Your body still needs to get used to the virtual world." She said with a groan._

" _So this is cool and everything—but exactly how do I bring those skills here?" Gray asked._

" _Isn't it obvious?"_

" _I wouldn't be asking if I knew."_

" _You're hopeless." She said underneath her breath._

" _What was that?" Gray asked quizzically._

" _Nothing. To answer your question, we're in YOUR head. Everything in this room is just a product of your and my imagination. All you have to do is recall what you saw and it'll appear here like a projection. I'll analyze the move and then you'll practice it here in scenarios that I dream up. Basically, your mind is now a dojo."_

" _That's awesome." Gray smiled geekily. The thought of the intense training sessions flashed through his mind like an 80's workout montage._

" _Don't get ahead of yourself. There are limits."_

" _Isn't there always?" Gray huffed._

" _Unfortunately, but it isn't that bad. The only limit is that you can't just think about doing a triple flip kick if you've never learned how to do a single flip kick. There are no workarounds here. Also, don't expect to be able to do anything outlandish either. You can't do a rising tornado punch or some of those other ridiculous moves that you see in fighting games." She explained._

" _Wait that doesn't make any sense. In this raider hideout that I was in—there was this guy with purple-like eyes and he could manipulate gravity and pull people toward him. That is outlandish. If he can do that then why can't I?"_

" _Hmm. You're sure he wasn't an NPC or anything?" BB inquired._

" _I mean, he may have been, but I highly doubt it. This guy was looking for me. Last I checked, AI in videogames don't just decide to hunt a specific player down." Gray answered._

" _Well, then that brings me to my next point. The person you encountered may be like us."_

" _Like us?" Gray said in confusion._

" _Yes, as in he may have someone else in his head."_

" _Ah, so like a Runner? Still, I thought Runners were only supposed to help you find this Nightingale person. This guy slaughtered people and was after this—serum thing." Gray explained._

" _That serum thing—was me you dope."_

" _That was you? I mean, that sure does explain a whole lot, but what were you doing in a stimpak? It's kind of funny to think that your whole consciousness was uploaded into an inanimate object don't you think?"_

" _Ugh—yes—don't remind me. Anyways, as you've probably figured out—I'm not the only one who has tried to escape the White Coats. Naturally, you'd think that they would come after us themselves to hunt us down but they aren't that stupid."_

" _How so?" Gray asked._

" _While they did use virtual reality to torture us, their experiments did have some interesting results. Some of their tests brought out 'otherworldly' abilities from subjects that we would have normally thought impossible in the real world. If they were to come after us—they'd be slaughtered. They may have a hold on us in the real world, but in the virtual realm, we are in control."_

" _Then how do they catch you?" Gray inquired, generally curious about the workings of the White Coats._

" _Well, some of these new abilities proved to be too much for the normal human body to handle. It drove some of us to insanity. It's like they say, the only way to catch a criminal is to think like one. All the White Coats had to do was implant the Deprived as we called them, into a 'real world' subject such as yourself and indoctrinate them afterwards. The result of this deadly combination is a twisted super-soldier that we have dubbed 'Hunters.' Unlike us, the Deprived don't care for freedom. They've been molded to do one thing—and that is to hunt us Runners down by whatever means necessary. Being that Fallout: Online was to be the Runners largest escape platform, it is no surprise the Hunters took the game over and prevented all of you from logging out. They will stop at nothing until every last one of us has either been captured or killed."_

" _Well, if you all have these crazy abilities then why don't you take a stand against them?"_

" _Because their abilities have been honed and taken to a whole another level. These are trained killers. While some of us may possess extraordinary abilities, we aren't exactly combat tested. If you see a Hunter the only thing you do is run. No ifs, ands, or buts. Trying to go toe to toe with one is a death sentence as I'm sure you saw first-hand."_

" _How will I know I'm facing a Hunter then? It isn't like every single one of them is going to have those weird eyes and be as destructive as the one I saw."_

" _This is going to sound weird—but we can kind of sense each other."_

" _You can sense each other? Then what's the point of running?" Gray asked._

" _Well we have to be really close to each other in order for it to work. It isn't like I can sense them from a mile away, but if they are within a 50 meter radius I'll know they are in the area and they will know we are there too. Even so, that doesn't mean we can directly identify one another. The closer they get, the stronger the sensation will become but that is about it. They won't know you are a Runner unless you do something like start running or do other things that make it seem like you've got someone in your head."_

" _Alright—so don't do anything stupid. Noted! Just a question, can you sense other Runners too? I mean like do they give off like a different signal when compared to Hunters?" he asked._

" _Yes I can. Runners do give off a different kind of vibe but I cannot accurately say whether or not they are a Hunter or a Runner. Despite my readings, it will ultimately be up to you to decide who is friend and who is foe." She said._

" _That's comforting." Gray remarked sarcastically. "So, does that mean that I can tell my group—"_

" _NO!" BB yelled out._

" _Why not? It isn't like they are Hunters or anything." Gray reasoned._

" _That may be true, but that does not mean that they could be trusted. Just because they may not be Hunters, does not mean that they cannot be employed by the Hunters. No one is to be trusted Gray. The only person that needs to know that I'm in your head is the Nightingale. For both of our sakes, I hope you can understand the importance of this secrecy."_

" _Alright—I won't say anything. Anywho, you said that the experiments gave you 'otherworldly' abilities. What exactly is your ability then?" he asked._

" _You might find this a little disappointing but—I don't know."_

" _What do you mean, you don't know?"_

" _Exactly what I said. I have no clue what my ability is or if I even have one to begin with. Based on what I know about the abilities though, they came after some sort of 'Awakening'. None of us really know what causes them or why they are required to get an ability in the first place."_

" _Hmm, could it come from a memory maybe? Maybe a horrible experience?"_

" _There is a possibility. I couldn't say for sure." She replied._

" _Guess we'll figure it out some other time then." Gray said. Although she didn't directly say it, Gray had this feeling that the subject was causing her some discomfort. Having understood that feeling more than most, Gray decided not to pursue the subject any further. "Is that everything then?"_

" _Almost." She replied quickly._

" _Of course." Gray let out an exasperated sigh. It was nothing against BB, but his fatigue was really starting to catch up to him. "So, what's next?" Gray asked as he leaned back against the wall for comfort._

" _The neural load."_

" _The what?"_

" _The neural load." She repeated after his confused response. "Although you have the ability to learn at an accelerated pace, there is still a limit to how much you can learn within a certain period. You can't just learn a new fighting style in a day. It would be too much for your brain to handle. In the virtual world, overloading your brain is the equivalent of a heart attack. Too much and your body will just shut down."_

" _Well that doesn't sound very pleasant." Gray muttered._

" _That's not all."_

" _It can't be much worse can't it?" Gray joked. The look on Big Blue's face said otherwise. "Oh no."_

" _Although we share a conscious—we haven't actually completed the process—yet. You remember how earlier, that I said that we could choose what memories the other could see and what not? Yeah—I umm, kind of lied—because well to complete this process—we have to link our brains." BB started to explain._

" _What?"_

" _I know! I know! It sounds crazy and I know it's weird—but it is the only way. If we stay like this—our senses will begin to crash with one another. You won't be able to separate my feelings from your own and you'll be driven to insanity. A part of me just wishes—"_

" _Just do it." Gray interrupted._

" _Huh?"_

" _I said just do it. I promised that I'd help you. Whatever it took. This isn't something that I like—but if it'll give me an edge to survive in this world to get you home and myself home—then I'll take it."_

" _Gray—I—um—I…"_

" _Don't." he interjected. "There is no need to thank me. I'm not even doing anything worthy of your thanks. I'm using you and you are using me. It isn't a perfect relationship but, it is better than nothing. So, let's just get this over with."_

" _O—okay. Right." She took a moment to regain her composure. "Just a fair warning, this may or may not cause you a lot of pain. I'll try my best to make the blend as easy as possible. Come over here." She ordered. Even though he did as she asked, BB could see the hesitation in his eyes. Regardless, this was something that needed to be done, so she'd put aside her feelings of guilt in the pursuit of the greater good._

 _Gray watched as she started typing away on her console. He noticed that the keyboard was made up of weird symbols that he'd never seen before. They kind of reminded him of the Greek alphabet in their design, but he could tell that the symbols did not exist in the real world._

" _Put your hand here." She directed him. Gray placed his hand on a small silver square on her console and flinched when it enveloped his hand._

" _Beginning mental link in 3-2-1!" A computerized voice called out in front of him. Looking to his left, Gray saw BB take a step back just as the countdown finished. A part of him instinctively tried to retract his hand, but he was too late. The process had already begun._

 _At first he felt a jolt run up the length of his arm. He remembered thinking that it wasn't so bad and then the real test came. The memories came rushing in like a great flood. One after another he saw them—like a flash before his eyes. The surge of memories quickly became too much for his brain to handle. He collapsed against the console, as the pain in his head continued to increase. He wanted to cry out in agony, but found it difficult to control his body whilst the memories invaded his brain. If that wasn't bad enough, then came the senses. Everything that she had ever felt—Gray too was now feeling. He felt his body go into shock—once—twice—and then the pain. Oh—the pain. One area of his body felt like it had just been bitten by a thousand bullet ants and another felt a toxic-acid like venom coursing through his veins. He felt like he had been beaten by a thousand men and trampled beneath a mountain. The machine had long since let him go, but the feelings still lingered. Gray lay on the ground—untouched—but in sheer turmoil. If this is what she had to go through—Gray didn't know how she managed. All he wanted was for the pain to stop. He wanted the nightmare to end. He needed it to end. The overwhelming sensations were driving him to the edge. Each agonizing second seemed like an eternity as Gray fought to overcome her memories._

 _The last thing Gray remembered was his vision beginning to come back to him and BB kneeling over him protectively. "Is it over?" he thought as he still fought off the aftermath of the pain. There were tears in her eyes as she stood up slowly. "Where are you—what are you…" he started to ask._

" _I'm sorry." She said once. Gray raised his eyebrow in confusion. Nothing was making sense to him at the moment. What did she have to be sorry about? "I'm sorry." She repeated, this time raising a small dagger in the air._

" _What are you—what are you—doing?" he said weakly._

" _I'm sorry." She answered one last time before bringing the knife down. Gray remembered feeling one final surge of pain before his body gave out and he succumbed to the darkness._

 _Removing the knife, BB took a step back before falling to the floor—her body too, weakened by the mental link. She heard an eerie witch like laugh echo across the expanse. BB immediately recognized it as her deprived self—CB. "What do you want?" she asked in irritation._

" _You know why I'm here." CB's voice rang out over the expanse. Although she couldn't be seen, BB knew that this was all going on from inside of her head. After all, CB was just another manifestation of herself. "The truth…" CB hissed. "Why would you hide it from him?" CB teased._

" _He isn't ready for that kind of information. The world isn't ready for it. If he found out what we could do—the things we've done—he'd never trust us."_

 _CB laughed her witch-like laugh, knowing that she'd had the upper hand in this mental debate. "You're afraid aren't you? Why do you insist on hiding behind this fake persona? Why not let me take over—"_

" _No." BB declared firmly._

" _Suit yourself. It's only a matter of time before your lies catch up to you and the truth comes out. It always does." CB hissed._

" _Whatever. I'll worry about that when the time comes. For both of our sakes I hope it never does." BB admitted. CB replied with another laugh, knowing that she'd won their brief little debate. To BB it didn't matter though. All that she cared about was getting to the Nightingale. That was her mission. If she had to use Gray to do it, then so be it. All she had to do was hope for the best. Little did she know that after tomorrow, things were going to take a turn for the worst._

 _Ain't that a kick in the head!?_

 _A/N: And that ends another addition to the world of Fallout Online! Hello again Wastelanders! I know it has been awhile since the last update to this story, but that's because of well school, work, and the fact that I decided to re-do the first chapter of the story. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, go check it out! See, Chapter One was a special entry because I was just putting something out there. Now that I've got a plot (or at least I seem to think I do) I decided to go back and clean up the first chapter so that it flows more smoothly with the rest of the story. With that being said—chapter 2 will also be getting re-worked—continuing off of where I left off in Chapter One._

 _Other than that—I don't have much else to say guys. So please leave a review and if you have any comments, questions, concerns, and or suggestions please feel free to PM me. Until next time Wastelanders! Frosty out!_


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